
Glass 

Book 



LITERARY FABLES, 



THE SPANISH OF TEIARTE. 



ROBERT ROCKLIIT. 



SECOND EDITION. 







"- 



LONDON: 
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMAN; 

LIVERPOOL: ROCKLIFF AND SONS. 
MDCCCLIV. 






LIVERPOOL : 
ROCKLIFF AND SONS, PRINTERS, CASTLE STREET. 






PEEEACE. 



Don Tomas de Ybiaete, an eminent Spanish 
poet, died in 1790. His works are voluminous ; 
but, with the exception, perhaps, of a didactic 
poem on Music, his Fabulas LiterariaS) of which 
the first edition appeared in 1782, is the only 
one of them whose popularity has extended be- 
yond his own country. 

With entire originality of subject, these fables 
combine a novelty of application which distin- 
guishes them from every other collection; for, as 



IV PEEEACE. 

their name implies, they refer solely to literary 
raatters, and, like the Ars J?oetica of Horace 
and Pope's Essay on Criticism, embody a code 
of laws expressly framed for the government of 
authors. In point of ,execution, they have much 
of the manner of La Fontaine, but without any 
thing of the character of imitation. 

By the professional critic the following version 
will probably be censured as too paraphrastic; 
nor is the Translator unconscious, that in some 
instances he may have carried his freedom of 
interpretation to a faulty excess. He thinks, 
however, with Dry den, that, "if it be a fault, 
it is much more pardonable than that of those 
who run into the other extreme of a literal and 
close translation, where the poet is confined so 
streightly to his author's words that he wants 
elbow-room to express his elegancies;" and he 
trusts that, even where he has deviated the most 



PEEEACE. V 

largely from the letter, it will be found that he 
has added nothing which is at variance with the 
spirit of his original. 

One of the distinguishing charms of the Fa- 
hulas Literarias is the variety of their versification; 
and in the Spanish preface the attention of the 
reader is directed with complacency to the fact, 
that the sixty-seven fables, of which the volume 
consists, are composed in forty different kinds 
of metre. In this respect, and almost to an 
equal extent, the Translator has followed the ex- 
ample of his author; and, instead of monotonously 
restricting himself, after the usual fashion of 
English fabulists, to the octosyllabic, has unhe- 
sitatingly adopted in each case any form of verse 
that he considered suitable to the story. If he 
has seldom attempted to reproduce the metres 
of the original, it has been from a conviction 
that many of the peculiarities of Spanish rhythm, 



VI PREFACE. 

however harmonious they may be to a native ear, 
would prove harsh and unpleasing to an English 
one. 

It is proper to state that a few of the versions 
appeared in Blackwood's Magazine several years 
ago. 



In the present edition the text has been care- 
fully revised, and has undergone considerable 
alterations. Some additional fables have also been 
included in the volume, which now, for the first 
time, contains a translation of Triarte's entire 
collection. 

LlYEEPOOL. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

THE ELEPHANT AND THE BEASTS . . . . 1 

THE SILKWORM AND THE SPIDER 6 

THE BEAR, THE APE AND THE PIG 7 

THE BEE AND THE DRONES 9 

THE PARROTS AND THE MONKEY 12 

THE APE AND THE JUGGLER 16 

THE BIG BELL AND THE LITTLE BELL 21 

THE MUSICAL ASS 23 

THE IVY AND THE THYME 25 

THE TWO RABBITS . . ' 27 

THE EGGS 30 

THE GOOSE AND THE SERPENT 37 

THE PARASOL, THE MUPF AND THE FAN 39 

THE CHEST OP TEA AND THE CHEST OF SAGE .... 42 



Till CONTENTS. 

PAGE 
THE FROG AND THE FROGLING 45 

THE SWAN AND THE LINNET 47 

THE TRAVELLER AND THE MULE 50 

THE GOAT AND THE HORSE 53 

THE BEE AND THE CUCKOO 55 

--THE MOUSE AND THE CAT 57 

THE HOUSEMAID AND THE BROOM 60 

THE OTVX 61 

THE DOG AND THE RAGMAN 61 

— THE PARROT, THE STARLING AND THE MAGPIE .... 65 

THE BUSTARD 67 

THE LION AND THE EAGLE 70 

—* THE MONKEY 73 

THE TURNSPIT AND THE ASS .80 

THE RAT AND THE AUTHOR 84 

THE PETIT-MAITRE 89 

THE OSTRICH, THE DROMEDARY AND THE EOX . . . . 91 

THE GIPSY'S ASS 95 

-THE WOLF AND THE SHEPHERD , . 100 

THE OX AND THE GRASSHOPPER 103 



CONTENTS. IX 

PAGE 
THE MACAW AND THE MARMOT 105 

THE PORTRAIT PAINTER 107 

THE COCK, THE HOG AND THE LAMB 112 

THE ASS AND HIS MASTER 115 

THE SPORTSMAN AND THE FERRET 118 

THE PHILOSOPHER AND THE LIZARDS . . 122 

THE TIGHT-ROPE DANCER AND HIS PUPIL .127 

THE CAT, THE LIZARD AND THE CRICKET 130 

THE POX AND THE CATERPILLAR 133 

THE WATCHES 137 

THE OILMAN'S ASS 141 

THE TRAVELLERS 143 

THE MAGPIE AND THE MONKEY 147 

THE OWL AND THE TOAD 155 

THE BEETLE 158 

THE PROG AND THE HEN 160 

THE POUR CRIPPLES 162 

THE FLINT AND THE STEEL 16& 

THE COUNTRY SQUIRE 168 

THE ANT AND THE FLEA * 172 



X CONTESTS. 

PAGE 
THE MOLE AND OTHER ANIMALS 177 

THE SWORD AND THE SPIT 181 

THE SQUIRREL AND THE HORSE 184 

THE GARDENER AND HIS MASTER 187 

THE TWO THRUSHES 191 

THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE SPARROW 194 

THE DISCONCERTED CONCERT 197 

THE COCK AND HIS COMBATS 204 

THE GNATS 207 

THE LACEMAKERS 213 

THE PEACOCK AND THE CROW 215 

THE JUDGE AND THE BRIGAND , . 217 

THE VIPER AND THE LEECH 219 



LITERARY FABLES. 



FABLE I. 



Ningun particular debe ofenderse de lo que se dice en comun. 



THE ELEPHANT AND THE BEASTS. 

In times of old, when beasts, 'tis known, 
Possess'd a language of their own, 
And even managed, now and then, 
To talk as sensibly as men, 
It happen' d — for those "good old times" 
Were not without their share of crimes — 
That, seeing with disapprobation 
The vices of the brute creation, 

B 



THE ELEPHANT AND THE BEASTS. 

An Elephant resolved to call 
A meeting and reform them all. 
They met ; when, having gravely bow'd 
His trunk to greet the curious crowd, 
He spouted forth, with mighty strength 
Of lungs, a speech of mighty length, 
A speech which, like a prudent orator, 
He had composed and got memoriter. 
Each fault and folly, which of late 
Had sapp'd the morals of the state ; 
Pert ignorance, destructive sloth, 
Malignant envy, worse than both, 
Hypocrisy and affectation, 
And pride that oversteps its station, 
All these, and more than I have time 
To recapitulate in rhyme, 
He stigmatized with all the fire 
And freedom of a preaching friar. 

The virtuous portion of the crew 
(But these, alas ! were very few) 
Received with open acclamation 



THE ELEPHANT AND THE BEASTS. 

The honest Elephant's oration. 
The gentle lambkin skipp'd with glee, 
And blithely humm'd the busy bee; 
The faithful dog, the patient steer, 
The dove, the emmet, and the deer, 
By different tokens of applause 
Evinced their zeal in virtue's cause ; 
The meek ass, with a joyous bray, 
Approved the speech; and, strange to say, 
The horse assented by a — nay. 

But others, though they felt within 
A shrinking consciousness of sin, 
Express'd their anger that the Elephant 
Should utter charges so irrelevant. 
The tiger gnash' d his teeth and growl' d, 
The wolf in savage concert howl'd ; 
The serpent shot his venom' d fang, 
And hiss'd throughout the long harangue; 
So foul a libel on a bird 
The vulture vow'd was never heard; 
The toad refused to stay — the snail 
b 2 



THE ELEPHANT AND THE BEASTS. 

And locust follow' d in his trail; 
And reynard fled, as if a pack 
Of dogs were yelping at his back ; 
The monkey, mounting at a jump 
Upon the dromedary's hump, 
Amused the groundlings with grimace, 
And mock'd the speaker to his face; 
While gnat and hornet, wasp and drone, 
Reviled him in an under-tone. 

But high above the jarring host 
The Elephant maintain' d his post, 
As unconcern'd as if the brutes 
Had been a company of mutes, 
And thus, with unabated force, 
At length concluded his discourse : — 
" My observations, I protest, 
However pointedly express 5 d, 
"Were universally address'd — 
Address' d alike to every one, 
But personally aim'd at none. 
The few whose consciences are clear 



THE ELEPHANT AND THE BEASTS. 

Have nothing to resent or fear ; 
While such as choose to take offence 
By misinterpreting my sense, 
Convict themselves, and merely show 
How justly they deserve the blow." 

My fables, in their application, 

Eefer to every age and nation ; 

For authors, just as dull and vain 

As any who abound in Spain, 

Have perpetrated prose and rhyme 

In every land, in every time. 

But, though I solemnly disclaim 

All personality of aim, 

If any scribbler, conscience-smitten, 

Should wince at aught that I have written - 

Should find, in short, the cap to fit, 

The fool is welcome unto it. 



EABLE II. 



Se ha de considerar la calidad de la obra, y no el tiempo que se ha tardado 
en hacerla. 



THE SILKWOBM AND THE SPIDEE. 

One day as a Silkworm slowly spun 
Her delicate threads in the noontide sun, 
A Spider cried from his darksome nook : 
"Look at my web, sweet sister, look! 
I began it at dawn — 'tis hardly noon — 
And yet my task will be ended soon ; 
For while thou spinnest thy life away, 
I weave a web in a single day. 
Examine it well — each airy line 
Is as fine and fair as the best of thine." 
" True/' said the Silkworm with a smile ; 
" But will they endure for half the while ?" 



TABLE III. 



Nunca una obra se acredita tanto de mala como quando la aplauden los necios. 



THE BEAB, THE APE, A!ST) THE PIG. 

A Beab, whose dancing help'd to gain 

His own and owner's livelihood, 
And whose success had made him vain 

As any petit-maitre, stood 
Upon his hinder legs to try 

The figure of a new quadrille, 
When seeing that an Ape was nigh, 

He stump' d about with all his skill. 
And "Tell me how you like," he cried, 

" My dancing, for I'm always glad 
To hear the truth." — The Ape replied, 

"I really think it very bad." — 



THE BEAR, THE APE, A1ST) THE PIG. 

"'Tis plain enough/' rejoin'd the Bear, 

" That envy mates you censure so ; 
For have I not a graceful air, 

A slender shape and limber toe ?" 
But here a tasteless Pig began 

To grunt applause, and said, "I vow 
I've never met, in brute or man, 

With one who danced so well as thou." 
The Bear, on hearing this, became 

Sedate and pensive for awhile; 
And then, as if abash' d with shame, 

Eeplied in a more humble style : 
"The agile Ape's rebuke might be, 

Inspired by jealousy or spleen ; 
But, since the Pig commends, I see 

How bad my dancing must have been." 

Let every author think on this, 
And hold the maxim for a rule — 

The worst that can befall him is 
The approbation of a fool. 



FABLE IV. 



Facilmente se luce con citar y elogiar alos hombres grandes de la antigiiedad : 
el merito esta en imitarlos. 



THE BEE AND THE DBONES. 

A council of the Drones was call'd one day 
On special business— to devise a way 
By which they might, if possible, achieve 
A better character, and undeceive 
The public, who unluckily agreed 
To stigmatize them as a worthless breed. 
They met — the idlest idiot of them all 
Came, like a patriot, at his country's call. 
And first they tried, with all their might and main, 
To make a honeycomb, but tried in vain ; 
For, simple as it seemed, the task defied 
Their efforts, and was quickly laid aside. 



10 THE BEE AND THE DEOIOIS. 

But, still desirous to display their parts 

And application to the useful arts, 

They went, and, taking from an ancient hive 

The body of a Bee, who, when alive, 

Had been the ablest artist of her day, 

They bore it to a grave in long array, 

And buried it with honour; then, around 

The spot they flew, and with a humming sound 

Extoll'd the honey which she once had made, 

And sang her praises with as much parade, 

As if the panegyric could atone 

For lack of equal merit in a Drone, 

Or made, in fact, her merit all their own. 

While thus they pour'd their eulogistic strain, 
And as they sung the more became more vain, 
A Bee, who heard them as he flew along 
In quest of flowers, address'd the noisy throng : 
"You toil to little purpose, if the sum 
And substance of your toil is but a hum. 
The smallest product of a working bee — 
A single drop of honey made by me, 



THE BEE AND THE DBONES. 11 

Exceeds in worth your utmost pomp of praise, 
And all the buzz and bustle that you raise." 

And thus, by quoting works unlike his own, 
A pedant's dulness is more plainly shown; 
For while the booby, as he fills his page 
With classic extracts, deems himself a sage, 
The scraps of foreign wisdom which he cites 
Expose the native nonsense that he writes; 
But authors of superior parts, instead 
Of idly rhapsodising o'er the dead, 
Evince a proper sense of ancient lore, 
And praise it less, but imitate it more. 



12 



FABLE V. 



Los que corrompen su idioma no tienen otrodes quite que ilamar Puristas i 
los que le hablan con propiedad, como si el serlo fuera tacha. 



THE PAEEOTS AND THE MONKEY. 

Two Parrots, fresh from St. Domingo, 
AYhere each had learn' d a different lingo- 
Eor half that isle of sugar-cane 
Belongs to France, and half to Spain — 
A captain's gift to his Amanda, 
Were caged within the same veranda, 
And blending, as they gabbled on, 
Their French and Spanish into one, 
Produced a dialect betwixt 
The two, in which the two were mix'd — 
A dialect that served to tell 
Their parrot-news in, just as well 



THE PAEE0TS AKD THE MONKEY. 13 

As if it had consisted wholly 

Of French or Spanish phrases solely. 

But, vex'd to hear the birds harangue 

In such an incoherent slang, 

A mess of words whose misalliance 

Set sense and syntax at defiance, 

And might be (for they sounded oddly) 

Indelicate, if not ungodly, 

Their mistress, in the hope that each, 

"When placed beyond the other's reach, 

Would soon resume his native speech, 

Eemoved the more loquacious parrot — 

The French one — to a distant garret. 

But though the Gallic bird improved, 

And, ere he had been long removed, 

Abandoning as incommode 

A tongue qui n'etait point de mode, 

From his discourse contrived to banish 

Completely every scrap of Spanish, 

The Spanish bird would not retrench 

A single syllable of French, 



14 THE PAEE0TS AND THE MONKEY. 

But still continued, though alone, 
To jabber it, as if its tone 
Enrich' d the old Castilian tongue— 
As gardens are enrich' d by dung. 

One day, instead of olla, he 

Call'd for un gratin de bouillie, 

When, with a face of much amazement 

Protruded from a neighbouring casement, 

A Monkey ask'd him what the phrase meant; 

And, being told, discharged a volley 

Of laughter at the pedant's folly. 

Surprised and vex'd at this rebuff, 

The Parrot answer'd in a huff/ 

"Thou art a Purist,* I suspect, 

And I despise thy sober sect." 

The Monkey, bowing to the bird, 

Replied: il I thank thee for the word; 

Though parrots may despise the same, 

It is an honourable name." 

* A term employed by modern corrupters of our language, when they 
pretend to ridicule those who speak it with purity." — Yriartb. 



THE PAEE0TS AND THE MONKEY. 15 

Too many authors intersperse 
Affectedly their prose or verse 
With Gallicisms that defile 
Their native purity of style, 
And, like the Parrot, labour thus 
To be, at best, ridiculous. 



16 



FABLE VI. 

Sin claridad no hay obra buena. 
THE APE AND THE JTTGGLEB. 

Good Doctor Dunderhead, who lost his brains 
By overstudying of natural history — 

Eor students often take uncommon pains 
To turn the plainest matter to a mystery — 

Who wrote a score of volumes to describe 
Some score of beasts that Adam never saw, 

Of phoenix, unicorn, or griffin tribe, 
And gave their very likeness to a claw; 

In short, who rummaged continent and cape 

For creatures of the strangest size and shape, 
This reverend writer tells in ponderous prose 
A certain story, which I'll re-compose 

In light and careless verse, about an Ape. 



THE APE AND THE JUGGLER. 17 

According to his kind, this Ape possess' d 

The faculty of imitation strongly, 
(A faculty that's dangerous at the best, 

For apes are apt, like men, to use it wrongly,) 
And being bound apprentice — by a chain — 
TJnto a Juggler, had contrived to gain 

A smattering of a trick or two, which made 
The creature as inordinately vain 

As if he were an adept in the trade, 
And competent, in case of need — if age 

Or sickness laid his master on the shelf — 
To take his place at once upon the stage, 

And carry on the business by himself. 
So one day, when the Juggler chanced to be 
From home, he seized the opportunity 

To get up a performance of his own ; 
And, summoning his friends by beat of drum, 
Invited all the neighbouring beasts to come, 

And see how great a conjurer he had grown. 

They came — and first the mimic Ape essay' d 
The part of harlequin, in which he play'd 



18 THE APE AND THE JUGGLEE. 

Sucli striking tricks with his elastic wand, 

Such sudden transformations, that he made 
The shaggy hair of the spectators stand 
On end in wonder, and their eves expand. 
A figurante next, with nodding plume, 
Upon a rope that stretch' d across the room, 

He danced, imto the music of a pair 
Of castanets, along its slender length, 
Then headlong cast himself with all his strength, 

And swung suspended by his tail in air — 
A sight at which his friends were so much awed, 
They hardly had the coinage to applaud. 
In short, as juggler, mountebank, or mime, 
His style of acting was pronounced sublime ; 
And even when he made, by sleight of hand, 
The cards to come and vanish at command, 
Tou would have sworn, if you had seen the trick, 
That he had dealt directly with Old Nick 

At length the Ape, ambitious to complete 
His triumph, undertook the crowning feat — 
His master's masterpiece — which so surpass' d 



THE APE AND THE JUGGLER. 19 

The others, that the Juggler, as a treat, 

On all occasions kept it till the last. 
A sheet was hung between his friends and him, 
The lights extinguish' d and the room made dim ; 
When, after a confused preamble, which 
Awoke attention to the highest pitch, 
He took a magic lantern from its case, 

And, drawing through the groove each pictured glass, 
With an exceeding gravity of face 

Announced the different figures that should pass. 
" Here comes a king," he cried, "and there a queen," 
But not a glimpse of either could be seen ; 
" Now stately towers," " now ships upon the main," 
But still the keenest optics stared in vain. 
No mystic ring expanded in the gloom, 
No spectral image glided through the room ; 
But all was darkness — king, queen, towers and ships 
All hidden, like the sun in an eclipse. 
The crowd became impatient, and the Ape 
Had well nigh got into a serious scrape ; 
For, seeing not the sights of which he spoke, 
And thinking the deception past a joke, 
c2 



20 THE APE AJTD THE JT&G-LEK. 

His friends, unable to suppress their rage, 
At length began to boot him from the stage. 
But. in the very thickest of the din. 
The Juggler unexpectedly came in, 
And instantly detecting the omission 
That caused the failure of the exhibition, 

Rebuked his pupil with a smile, and cried : 
" Xo wonder that the audience are benighted, 

And all thy boasted visions unde scried ! 
The lamp Yrithin the lantern is not lighted ; 
And thou, poor pug, art properly requited." 

Thus, might I drop into an author's ear 

A piece of counsel. I would say : " Be sine, 

Whate'er you write, to keep your meaning clear; 
For dulness onlv ever is obscure." 



21 



FABLE VII. 



Con hablar poco y gravemente logran muchos opinion de hombres grandes. 



THE BIG BELL AXD THE LITTLE BELL. 

Withln" an old cathedral himg 

A mighty bell, 
Which never, save at Easter, swung 

One solemn knell ; 
And then, so sternly all around 

Its echoes fell, 
The peasants trembled at the sound 

Of that big bell. 

J^ot far from the cathedral stood 

A hermit's cell, 
And in its belfiy-tower of wood 

A little bell : 



THE BIG BELL AZS'D THE LITTLE BELL. 

Whose daily tmklings through the year 

So faintly feU, 
The peasants hardly gave an ear 

To that small bell. 

The hermit — he who own'd the same. 

And loved it well — 
Resolved' that it should share the fame 

Of the big bell : 
So tolling it but once a year 

"With one brief knell, 
He taught the peasants to revere 
. His little bell. 

And there are fools in vast repute, 

Who, strange to tell, 
Acquire their fame by being mute 

Like that small bell ; 
These would-be sages rarely speak, 

For they know well 
That frequent utterance would break 

The solemn spell. 



23 



FABLE VIII. 



Sin reglas del arte, el que en algo acierta, acierta por casualidad. 



THE MUSICAL ASS. 

The fable which I now present, 
Occurred to me by accident ; 
And whether bad or excellent, 
Is merely so by accident. 

A stupid Ass this morning went 

Into a field by accident, 

And cropp'd his food and was content, 

Until he spied by accident 

A flute, which some oblivious gent 

Had left behind by accident; 



24 THE MUSICAL ASS. 

When, sniffing it with eager seem. 

He breathed on it by accident. 

And made the hollow instrument 

Emit a sound by accident. 

" Hurrah, hurrah," exclaim' d the brute, 

"How cleverly I play the flute!" 

A fool, in spite of nature's bent, 
May shine for once — by accident. 



25 



FABLE IX. 



Nadie pretenda ser tenido por Autor s61o con poner un iigero prologo, 
6 algunas notas a libro ajeno. 



THE IVY AND THE THYME. 

I've read — I know not where or when, or if in prose 

or rhyme — 
A dialogue that pass'd between the Ivy and the 

Thyme. 
The Ivy, bowing haughtily, like one of high degree, 
Began : " God help thee, little one, how much I 

pity thee ! 
For, though the sweetest of the herbs that scent 

the air around, 
Thou art a dwarf in stature, scarce a span above 

the ground." 



26 THE IVY A3TD THE THYME. 

"I own my insignificance," the humble Thyme 

replied ; 
" But still, my stately friend, I think thy pity 

misapplied. 
I rather onght to pity thee, for I, however small, 
Am not indebted for my growth, Ike thee, imto a 

wall; 
"Whilst thou, if sever' d from the stones to which 

thy fibres grow, 
"Wouldst trail and grovel on the ground, — the lowest 

of the low." 

Thus many a scholiast contrives to climb the steep 

of fame, 
By linking to some lofty work his else unnoticed 

name ; 
For, though his scholia may deface the text o'er 

which they crawl, 
They grow incorporate with it, like Ivy with the 

wall. 



FABLE X. 



■<o debemos detenernos en qiiestiones frivolas, olvidando el asunto principal. 



THE TWO RABBITS. 

With a ravenous pack of dogs at liis back, 

A Babbit fled — or flew, 
For bis course was as fleet as if bis four feet 

"Were wing'd, like Mercury's two. 

Away, away, in wild dismay, 

He flew witb all bis might ; 
And bis joy was vast, wben be reacb'd at last 

A warren in bis fligbt. 

But ere be stole into a bole, 

Secure from furtber fear, 
A comrade, wbo spied tb^ trembler, cried, 

" Wbat is amiss, my dear ?" 



28 THE TWO RABBITS. 

" What is amiss ! why, simply this," 
He replied with panting breath, 

" Those greyhounds, see, have been hunting me, 
Till I'm nearly run to death." — 

" I hear the yell, and know it well, 

Of the dogs upon your track ; 
But you really err, for there's not, good sir, 

A greyhound in the pack." — 

" Wot a greyhound ?" — " No ! the fact is so, 

As you may shortly see ; 
And how you could make so absurd a mistake, 

Is a mystery to me. 

" For the noisy crew will be soon in view, 

I hear them hurrying on ; 
And if you'll stay, you'll find that they 

Are beagles, every one." — 

" What ! beagles ? Pshaw ! the dogs that I saw 
Were greyhounds, I'll be bail ; 



THE TWO BABBITS. 29 

I am not blind, I know what kind 
Of dogs were at my tail." — 

" Unless your fright deceived your sight, 

Tou must be blind indeed ; 
Or with half an eye, and the pack so nigh, 

Tou might have known the breed. 

" They are all, in short, of the beagle sort, 
Whate'er you may think or say." — 

" I tell you, zounds, that I know greyhounds, 
And such, as I live, are they." — 

"While words ran high, the dogs drew nigh 

And nigher in pursuit, 
Till unaware they fell on the pair, 

And settled the dispute. 

Some authors discuss a question thus, 

And, like this foolish pair, 
Expend their life in wordy strife 

On trifles light as air. 



30 



FABLE XI. 



No falta quien quiera pasar por Autor original, quando no hace mas que 
repetir con corta diferencia lo que otros muchos han dicho. 



THE EGGS. 

There is an island, which perhaps 
May not be mention' d in the maps, 

It is so very little ; 
But Mendes Pinto* could, no doubt, 
If question' d of its "whereabout," 

Describe it to a tittle. 

This island, by some strange neglect 
Of fortune, (though in one respect 
The goddess had been gracious, 



* Fernam Mendes Pinto, a traveller famous for his want of veracity. 
Many of Ms descriptions of the places which he professes to have visited, 
are altogether imaginary. 



THE EGGS. 31 

And bless' d it with a breed of owls) 
Was wholly destitute of fowls — . 
I mean the gallinaceous. 

Nor could an egg, however much 
An epicure had sigh'd for such, 

Be had for love or pence there, 
Till, tempest-driven from his way, 
A captain touch' d at it one day, 

And left some cocks and hens there. 

No more confined within a coop, 
But fluttering forth all cock-a-hoop, 

The fowls, on reaching dry land, 
Began without delay to pair, 
And eggs, of course, no longer were 

Unknown throughout the island. 

The natives found them newly laid ; 
And though at first they felt afraid 
To taste the strange production, 



32 THE EGGS, 

Ere long a good old grandame crack' d 
A shell, and managed to extract 
The yolk by simple suction. 

When, imitating what they saw, 
And seizing them uncook'd and raw, 

They suck'd the eggs with pleasure, 
Pronounced their granny wondrous wise, 
And thought they ne'er enough could prize 

The gastronomic treasure. 

But when, in course of time, a man 
Contrived to boil an egg, the plan 

"Was deem'd a vast improvement ; 
The dame discarded and despised — 
They bless' d the genius that devised 

This culinary movement. 

And when a further scheme was broach' d, 
And eggs were delicately poach' d, 
The public, still more grateful, 



THE EGGS. 33 

Exclaim' d that these were eggs indeed ; 
And raw or boil'd, they now agreed, 
Were absolutely hateful. 

But ere another month had gone, 
An egg was fried ; and every one 

So much approved the flavour, 
The dish became a favourite, till 
A fashion more luxurious still 

Supplanted it in favour. 

For when within a crust of paste, 
And spiced and sweeten' d to the taste, 

The custard was presented, 
The gift was welcomed with delight, 
And blessings lavish' d on the wight 

By whom it was invented. 

But butter' d eggs succeeded soon, 
A still more appetising boon, 

Which all pronounced delicious, 

D 



34 THE EGGS. 

A rare receipt — a happy hit — 

A master-piece of cookery, fit 

To set before Apicius. 

Yet though, successful for a while, 
Its fame extended through the isle, 

And spread from hall to hovel, 
Ere long the public loathed the dish, 
'Twas superseded, and a wish 

"Was felt for something novel. 

So when, one lucky Shrovetide hour, 
Aji artiste mix'd with milk and flour, 

His eggs into a batter, 
From house to house the fashion ran, 
And cakes were toss'd in every pan, 

And smoked on every platter. 

At once the daring fancy, which 
Had soar'd to so sublime a pitch 
Of esculent invention, 



THE EGQS. 35 

Was praised by all ; and many thought 
The author of the pancake ought 
To have a public pension. 

But innovation egg'd them on — 
The pancake ceased to please anon, 

And every roof resounded 
With paeans loud and louder still, 
When, by a further feat of skill, 

The omlet was compounded. 

In short, a hundred different schemes, 
Whips, trifles, syllabubs and creams, 

As fickle fancy goaded, 
Prevail' d in turn throughout the isle, 
Were each applauded for a while, 

And each in turn exploded. 

Till, vex'd to find that every change, 
Howe'er preposterous and strange, 
Was hail'd with acclamation, 
d 2 



36 THE EGGS. 

A sage, reverting to the past 
"With fond remembrance, thus at last 
Address' d the noisy nation. 

" Though cooks deserve our thanks," he cried, 
" And eggs, it cannot be denied, 

Are better for the dressing, 
The man who brought unto our coast 
The cocks and hens, methinks, is most 

Entitled to a blessing." 

So they who teach their fellow-men 
Some useful truth unknown till then, 

Deserve far greater praises 
Than they, whose utmost end and aim 
Is merely to repeat the same 

In other forms and phrases. 



37 



FABLE XII. 



Mas vale saber una cosa bien, que muchas mal. 



THE GOOSE AND THE SERPENT. 

One day a Groose, that stood beside 

A shallow river, pertly cried : 

" Look where I will, I never see 

A creature that can vie with me. 

What wondrous powers are mine ! Endow' d 

More amply than the common crowd, 

And not, like them, ignobly pent 

Within a single element, 

I rove where'er I list, the free 

And charter' d denizen of three ; 

For having under my command 

The realms of water, air and land, 



38 THE G-OOSE AND THE SERPENT. 

I traverse all, and run or swim 
Or fly, according to my whim." 

A Serpent, that was creeping by, 

Rebuked the creature's braggart cry : 

" Canst thou," said he, ' ; conceited thing, 

Outstrip the Eagle on the wing, 

O'ertake the Stag upon the turf, 

Or match the Salmon in the surf ? 

xS"o ! Wouldst thou but one instant try 

"With such to swim or run or fly, 

The strife would prove how much thou art 

A bungler in each different part." 

So authors often estimate 
Their talents at too high a rate ; 
For, barely qualified to shine, 
Perhaps, in some inferior line, 
They aim at all, instead of one, 
And, like the Groose, excel in none. 



39 



FABLE XIII. 



Tarabien suele ser nulidad el no saber mas que una cosa : extremo opuesto 
del defecto reprehendido en la tabula antecedente. 



THE PAKASOL, THE MUEE, AND THE EAN. 

Although the man who makes pretension 

To universal comprehension, 

"Who turns by fits and starts to all things, 

And equally to great and small things, 

At most will merely learn to smatter 

Imperfectly on any matter — 

Yet he who limits his ambition 

Unto one trifling acquisition, 

Is certainly as great a zany 

As if he aim'd at over-many. 

One day, reposing from his labours, 
A Parasol address' d his neighbours, 



40 THE PARASOL, THE MTJEE, AND THE EAN. 

A hairy Muff and airy Fan, too, 

That lay within the same portmanteau ; 

For still, as in the days of iEsop, 

"When Pot and Kettle kick'd a breeze up, 

E'en things inanimate are able 

To talk familiarly in fable. 

"I scorn, 5 ' said he, "to be abusive, 

But really you are too exclusive, 

For, though endow' d with some ability, 

Tou lack the gift of versatility ; 

And hence, while I am — like a wooer — - 

At any moment welcome to her, 

Howe'er she may at times regard you, 

The fair one will ere long discard you. 

The Muff, for instance, may be chosen 

In winter, when her hands are frozen, 

But, as the season waxes warmer, 

It loses all its power to charm her ; 

And when the sultry suns of August, 

Have set her longing for a raw gust, 

The Fan is fondly press' d to serve her 

And cool her panting bosom's fervour, 



THE PARASOL, THE MUEE, AND THE EAK. 41 

Though, when December chills the weather, 

She banishes it altogether. 

Thus, each alternately selected, 

Is sure in turn to be rejected. 

But I, through every change of season, 

Am cherish' d for a double reason ; 

A Parasol when summer melts her, 

A Parapluie* when winter pelts her, 

In sun or shower I'm still on duty, 

The constant body-guard of beauty." 



* In place of the English word umbrella, its French equivalent parapluie 
has been adopted in order to preserve in the translation a similar play of 
words to that which exists in the original : — 

Aprended de mi, pese a vos ; 
Que en el hibierno soi Para-aguas, 
Y en el verano Quita-sol. 



42 



FABLE XIV. 



Algunos solo aprecian la Literatura extrangera, y no tienen la merior noticia 
de la de su Nacion, 



THE CHEST OE TEA A1S T D THE CHEST OE SAGE. 

One morning, as they chanced to meet at sea, 
A chest of Sage address' d a chest of Tea : 

" Ho ! brother, whence and whither art thou 
sailing ?" 
And in a speech emitted, or express' d — 
As speeches ever must be — from the chest, 

The Tea return' d an answer to the hailing :— 
"I'm journeying from the east unto the west, 
Prom China unto Europe's distant land, 
"Where I'm an article in high demand." 
"And I," rejoin'd the Sage, "unlike to thee, 
Am from the west, and sailing eastwardly 



THE CHEST OF TEA AND THE CHEST OF SAGE. 43 

To China, where for wholesomeness and flavour, 
As food or physic, I'm in mighty favour.* 
For though my countrymen, I blush to say, 

My European countrymen despise 
And fling me as a worthless weed away, 

The China-man is, heaven be praised ! more wise — 
He has a sage-tooth in his head, and knows 
The pleasure and relief my leaf bestows. 
In fact, I take precedence over thee, 
And hit his taste, friend Tea, unto a T. 

" But fare thee well ! and speed thee with the gale 

To Europe, where the tables will be turn'd, 
Where young and old will hail thee and inhale, 

And thou wilt be adored as I was spurn' d ; 
Eor every nation, howsoever loth 
To praise an article of native growth, 
Is prompt enough to purchase and applaud 
Whatever comes unto it from abroad." 



* Les Chinois font plus de cas de la sauge que de leur meilleur the. Savary 
rapporte que Ton disoit de son terns, que les Hollandois, qui leur en por- 
toient en quantite de toute sechee, en recevoient en echange quatre livres de 
the pour une de sauge. — Encyclopedic Methodique. Paris, 1784. 



44 THE CHEST OF TEA A>~D THE CHEST OE SAGE. 

Arid thus — although I grant that general good 
Ee suits from commerce rightly understood, 
And that the intercourse of mind with mind, 
Like other commerce, should be uncorrnned — 
I blame the man whose scholarship is shown 
In every country's authors save his own, 
„~WTio prizes, if from Paris or from Eome, 
The very talent that he scorns at home, 
And, while he overrates Eacine or Tasso, 
Disdains to read a line of G-arcilasso.^ 



* Garcilasso de la Vega, one of the most celebrated poets of Spain. An 
elegant translation of his works into English verse has appeared from the 
pen of Mr. Wifien. 



45 



FABLE XV. 



j Que despreciable es la Poesia de mucha hojarasca. 



THE FROG AND THE FROGLING. 

From their dwelling in a bog, 
Cried a Frogling to a Frog : 
" Mother, see, on yonder banks 
How the canes, in crowded ranks, 
Lift their leafy heads on high 
Till they seem to touch the sky. 
Tell me, have you ever seen 
Any trees so tall and green — 
Any that in stalk or stem 
Would deserve to vie with them?" 
But the words had scarcely past, 
When an unexpected blast 



46 THE FROG AlO) THE FROGLIXG. 

Rush'd, and with a mighty How 
Struck the grove and laid it low. 
Then, retorting from the bog, 
To the Frogling cried the Frog : 
" Look, my child — a child may gain 
Wisdom even from a cane — 
Look, and learn no more to prize 
Objects for their gloss and size. 
For each trunk that seem'd to thee 
Massy as a forest tree, 
Is as empty, frail and thin. 
As the vilest reed, within." 

Many bardlings in a strain 
Just as fugitive and vain — 
Never terse and never strong, 
But inordinately long, 
And, despite of much pretence, 
Quite without the sap of sense — 
Flourish for a clay, and then 
Vanish from the eves of men. 



47 



FABLE XVI. 



Nada sirve la fama, si no corresponden las obras. 



THE SWA3T AKD THE LUSTKET. 

As once a Linnet on a tree 
Was piping like a lover's lute, 

A Swan exclaim' d : " All birds should be, 
When I am nigh, entranced and mute ; 

For none can hope to vie with me, 
A vocalist of such repute ! 

" It heeds me not, but warbles still — 
Was ever songster half so vain ? 

The creature, with its tiresome trill, 
May thank its stars that I disdain 



48 THE SWA:ST A> T D THE LHOTET. 

To open my melodious bill, 

And pour an overpowering strain. 

" For if, as poets truly tell, 

My very death-notes are divine, 

My voice, of course, when I am well, 
Is still more exquisitely fine ; 

And I could readily excel 

That simple song by one of mine." 

" I grant thy fame in former years," 
The Linnet answer' d ; " but, as thou 

Art never heard by modern ears, 
Thy song is deem'd a fiction now, 

And, like the music of the spheres, 
A tale which moderns disallow. 

" But give me, sweet one, I beseech. 

A sample of that olden lay." 
The Swan, too flatter' d by the speech 

To answer with a churlish nav, 



THE SWAN AND THE LINNET. 49 

Began to sing — but gave a screech ; 
The Linnet laugh' d, and flew away. 

Thus many a coxcomb, with a name 
For talents which he ne'er possess' d, 

On turning author, finds his fame 
Unequal to the trying test, 

And, like the Swan, exposed to shame, 
Becomes a byword and a jest. 



50 



FABLE XYII. 



Los que empiezan elevando el estilo, se ven tal vez precisados a 
humittarle despues demasiado. 



THE TEAVELLEE AXD THE :tf"CLE. 

Peesh from a feed of oats and liar, 

A Mule, that had been let for hire. 
Started as briskly on its way 

As if its limbs would never tire ; 
But, having in a little while 
Expended all its feeble fire, 

Began to slacken in its style, 

And, fairly halting ere it got 
A rood beyond the second mile, 

Refused to stir another jot, 

But stuck as fast as if it were 
A part and parcel of the spot. 



THE TRAVELLER AKD THE MULE. 51 

And, like a rock, stood rooted there. 
Suspecting this to be a trick, 
A sort of mulish ruse-de-guerre 7 

The rider plied both spur and stick, 
But both appliances were vain, 
And each replied to by a kick ; 

Till, rearing in its rage and pain, 

At length it flung him from its back 
And laid him sprawling on the plain. 

" Art thou, in sooth, thou scurvy hack," 
The wounded rider cried, " the same 
That sped at first upon thy track, 

As if endued with strength of frame 
And speed of limb that might defy 
The power of man to tire or tame ? 

The glanders choke thee ! and may I 
Encounter a severer fate, 
And on the spot ignobly die, 

The victim of a broken pate, 
If knowingly I mount again 
A brute that starts at such a rate." 
e 2 



52 THE TBAVJELLEB AKD THE MULE. 

The youthful bard may try in vain 
The path of poesy, unless, 
Instead of urging, he restrain 

His winged courser's eagerness ; 
For Pegasus, if ridden hard, 
"Will sink at last from sheer excess, 

And fling to earth the luckless bard. 



53 



FABLE XTIII. 



Hai malos Escritores que se lisonjean facilmeute de lograr fama postuma, 
quando no ban podido merecerla en vida. 



THE GOAT AND THE HOESE. 

A Goat, with feet that danced and head that sway'd 
In modulated measure to the sonnd 

Of a sweet violin, which, deftly play'd, 

Awoke the blandest echoes all around, 

Had listen' d long, when, with an air of pride, 

He thus address' d a Horse who stood beside : — 

" These chords that speak so well, my humble friend, 
Were borrow' d from the bowels of a goat; 

And even I, when life is at an end, 

May still survive, and be a thing of note ; 

For then some artist of harmonic skill 

Shall twist my tripe into as sweet a trill." 



54 THE GOAT AKD THE HOESE. 

The Horse, as if in laughter, neigh' d aloud, 

And answer' d thus : "Poor wretch ! of what avail 

Would be the simple chords which make thee proud, 
Unless I had supplied them from iny tail 

With many a hair to form the fiddle-bow, 

Whose movement makes the hidden music flow ? 

" And, though the loss may pain me, I'm content ; 

For, after all, it gladdens me to see, 
While I am still alive, the instrument 

Indebted for its harmony to me. 
But say, what pleasure can its accents give 
To solace thee when thou hast ceased to live ?" 

Thus many a wretched writer, who has tried 
With unsuccessful efforts to engage 

Cotemporary praise, appeals with pride 
Unto the judgment of a future age, 

As if posterity's approving breath 

Could gratify "the dull cold ear of death"' 



do 



FABLE XIX. 



La variedad es requisite indispensable en las obras de gusto. 



THE BEE AivD THE CUCKOO. 

" Thou babbler," cried a Bee, one day, 
Unto a Cuckoo, " prithee, cease ! 

I hate thy everlasting lay ; 

Begone, and let me work in peace. 

" To hear thee syllable^ so long, 
"With such monotony, the word, 

The single word that is thy song, 
Exhausts my patience, foolish bird." 



* airy tongues, that syllable men's names 

On sands, and shores, and desert wildernesses. — Comus. 



56 THE EEE A2JB THE CUCKOO. 

"WeH if my song be wearisome.' 

Eeplied the Cuckoo to the Bee. 

■ " The structure of thy honeycomb 

Seems just as much in fault to me, 

" Its endless hexagons display 

Xo effort of inventive skill ; 
Then, shape it in some other way. 

And I will try a newer trill." 

c - Our cases differ," said the Bee. 

" My honeycomb needs no excu>c ; 
The strictest iiniforinity 

Is excellent in works of use. 

" But works of taste, my friend, like thine. 

Should take, of course, a wider range : 
Fur pleasure is their chief design. 

And pleasure's essence lies in change. 



57 



FABLE XX. 



Alguno que ha alabado una obra iguorando quien es su Alitor, suele 
vituperarla despues que lo sabe. 



THE MOUSE A^D THE CAT. 

What modern fables can compare with those 
Of iEsop, whose sublime invention chose 

The noblest incidents for each, and then 
Express' d them in inimitable prose ! 

Well, since I want a subject for my pen, 
And have his book at hand, I'll even choose 
A fable from him, and request the Muse 

To hitch it into good Castilian rhymes ; 
For I am sure that, merely for its merit, 
The tasteful reader will at once prefer it 

To any apologue of modern times. 



58 THE MOUSE A3TD THE CAT. 

A Mouse one evening, as it stole 

In quest of plunder from its hole. 

Exclaim' d aloud — for mice could speak 

Of yore, though now they merely squeak,— 

" "What virtue is more lovely than 

Fidelity in brute or man ? 

The dog, who guards his master's store, 

And drives the robber from the door, 

Deserves the praise of every mouse 

That has an interest in the house !" 

A Cat rejoin' d : " Thy praise should be 

Bestow' d as readily -on me ; 

For, like the dog, and with a zeal 

As watchful for my master's weal, 

Throughout the night I keep aloof 

A host of robbers from his roof, 

And guard from thee and thine the hoard 

Of dainties that should crown his board." 

On this the Mouse withdrew again 

Into its hole, and answer' d then : 

' ; Henceforth, since thou art faithful, mice 

Shall call fidelity a vice." 



THE MOUSE A:N T D THE CAT. 59 

'Tis ever thus — for we commend 
The smallest virtue in a friend ; 
While in a foe we should abhor it, 
And damn the hateful fellow for it. 



What think you, honest reader ? Is not this 

A clever little fable ? " Oh ! divine ! 
'Tis quite in iEsop's style, and only his ; 

Tou see his mighty mind in every line." 
Nay, courteous reader, spare your praise awhile 

The fable is, in fact, my own, and written 
Precisely in my customary style. 

"The deuce it is ! then I am fairly bitten." 
And, dear discerning reader, now that I 

Have own'cl it, and you know it to be mine, 
Your better judgment will, of course, decry 

The trifle which at first vou deem'd so fine. 



CO 



FABLE XXI. 



Hai Correctores de obras ajenas, que auadeu mas errores de ids que 
corrtejen. 



THE HOrSEXEAED A.SD THE BBOOAL 

" The devil take this besom."" cried 
A Housemaid to tlie stump of broom. 

An ancient stump, with which she tried 
In vain to sweep a dirty room : 

For, dropping piecemeal on the floor. 

It only litter' d it the more. 

And so say I — The devil take 
Those critics of a classic text, 

"W uiose commentaries merely make 
A crabbed passage more perplex Yi. 

And. by their efforts to correct. 

But aggravate each old defect. 



61 



FABLES XXII & XXIII. 



Atreverse a los Autores muertos, y no a. los vivos, no solo es cobardia, 
sino traicion. 



XXII. THE OWL ; 

AND 

XXIII. THE DOG AND THE RAGMAN. 

Some critics, of the coward sort, 

With mute servility succumb 
To living authors ; for, iu short, 
The risk, the fear of a retort 
Compels them to be dumb. 

But, like the gouls of eastern lore, 

These critics batten on the dead ; 
And when each author is no more, 
To whom they meanly quail' d of yore, 
Attack him without dread. 



62 THE OWL. 

A story, which in other days 

I often heard my grandam tell — 
So often that her rambling phrase 
Is printed on my mind — pourtrays 
This kind of critics well. 

An Owl, one morn — but, sooth to say, 

I am not telling it aright ; 
For owls are birds that love to stay 
Within their secret homes by day, 
And only fly by night — 

An Owl one night profanely flew 

Into a chnrch, and chanced to see 
A lamp or lantern ; but the two 
Are much alike, and one will do, 
"Whichever it might be. 

And yet, methinks, anent the pair, 

It was, if I remember well, 
A lamp ; but whether round or square, 
Or made of glass or earthenware, 
Is more than I can tell. 



THE OWL. 63 

But there it hung, in pious proof 

Of catholicity, before 
The Virgin's shrine — a thing aloof. 
Just ninety feet below the roof, 

And nine above the floor. 

The Owl, who felt at such a sight 

His appetite for oil arise, 
Swoop' d boldly towards it ; but the light, 
Alack ! was too intensely bright, 

And scorch' d his lidless eyes. 

So, reeling backwards in despair, 

He mutter' d, as he left the shrine, 

" Oh ! but for this terrific glare, 

How gloriously would I fare 
Upon that oil of thine ! 

"But trust me, lamp, though now I flee, 

If ever I should chance to find 
Thy flame extinct — with fearless glee 
I'll glut my thirsty beak in thee, 
Nor leave a drop behind." 



G4 THE DO a AXD THE BAGMAIT. 

And such are critics. But if they 

Should feel dissatisfied with this, 
Perhaps another fable may 
Present their likeness in a way 
That none can take amiss. 

One day a Ragman with his stick 

"Was poking in the kennel, when 
A Dog that pass'd began to prick 
His ears — for dogs delight to pick 
A quarrel with such men — - 

And rushing headlong to the fray, 

With bark and bite attack' d the man ; 
The frighten' d vagrant flung away 
His stick, or, as himself would say, 
He cut his stick, and ran. 

The Dog pursued him as he fled ; 

And ""What a wretch is this," he cried, 
" WTio holds a living dog in dread, 
Yet, when he meets with one that's dead, 

Will strip it of its hide!" 



65 



FABLE XXIV. 



Conviene estudiar los Autores originates, no los Copiantes y malos 
Traductores. 



THE PABKOT, THE STABLING AND THE MAGPIE. 

A Starling, in a sudden freak, 

Eesolved that she would learn to speak, 

But, acting on a foolish plan, 

Selected, in the place of man, 

A Parrot as the fittest creature 

For a preparatory teacher, 

From whom she quickly learn' d to prate 

Some dozen phrases, which at random 
She managed to articulate, 

Although she could not understand 'em; 
When thinking mere articulation 
Identical with conversation, 
p 



66 THE PARROT, THE STARLING AND THE MAGPIE. 

She left him, ere a month had flown, 

And took a pupil of her own, 

A Magpie, with as little sense, 

Or faculty of eloquence, 

On whom she proffer' d to bestow 

Such lessons, as, if duly heeded, 
Would teach it, in a week or so, 

To talk as cleverly as she did. 

The reader may infer that such 

A pupil would from such tuition • 
Be likely to derive as much 

Intelligence and erudition, 
As certain students who, instead 
Of studying at the fountain-head 

The literature of foreign nations, 
A less laborious mode pursue, 
And scantily imbibe it through 

The imperfect channel of translations. 



07 



FABLE XXV. 



Mui ridiculo papel hacen los Plagiarios que escriben centones. 



THE BTJSTABD. 

A Bustaed, mortified to see 
Her offspring fly so sluggishly, 
Resolved to rear a brisker race, 
A brood of bastards, in tlieir place — 
So from the sparrow and the thrush 
That lodged within a neighbouring bush, 
From partridge and from lark that made 
Their dwelling in the grassy glade, 
Where'er a nest was in her reach, 
She went, and stole an egg from each ; 
f2 



68 THE BtTSTARD. 

Then on the ill-assorted batch 
Sate resolutely down to hatch. 

Some eggs proved addle — but the bird 

Maintain' cl her post, and never stirr'd 

Till, after many a day had past, 

A few grew animate at last, 

And from their shells a callow brood 

Put forth their heads and chirped for food, 

Not two of whom were like each other, 

But all unlike their foster-mother. 

The Bustard bless' d the motley sight, 
And scream' d so loudly with delight, 
That, waken' d by the sudden sound, 
Her wondering neighbours flock' d around ; 
But when they look'd into the nest, 
And saw the squabs that she caress' d, 
The various plumage, shape and size, 
Apparent to a parent's eyes, 
At once reveal' d to every one 
The secret how their eggs had gone ; 



THE BUSTARD. 69 

And, fired with sudden courage, they 
Attack' d in turn the bird of prey, 
And seizing each upon its own 
Mew off, and left her quite alone. 

Thus many a scribe who lacks the skill 
To ply successfully the quill, 
Endeavours to exalt his name 
By pilfering from works of fame, 
And from the stolen scraps compiles 
A book in twenty different styles ; 
But should the owners, bit by bit, 
Reclaim, the meanly-gotten wit, 
Perhaps the bulky folio 
"Would in the process dwindle so, 
That in the end, of all the theffc, 
One fluttering leaf would not be left. 



70 



FABLE XXVI. 



Los que quieren hacer a dos partidos, suelen conseguir el despiecio de 
ambos. 



THE LIO^T AJsD THE EAGLE. 

As once, perplex' d with cares of state, 
The Lion and the Eagle sate 

In earnest consultation — 
For, like the autocrats of men, 
They held a congress now and then, 

To put down innovation — 



Among their topics of complaint, 
Enough to vex a brute or saint, 

The Eagle grumbled sadly, 
That — though the bulk of them were bad- 
Of all the subjects that he had, 

The bat behaved most badlv. 



THE LI0K A^D THE EAGLE. 71 

"This thing," he cried, "this nondescript, 
"Whom nature in mistake equipp'd, 

A mouse with wings of leather, 
Climbs to my skyey palace oft, 
And passes for a bird aloft, 

Although without a feather. 



" But quickly, if a quarrel rise, 
Away the renegado flies, 

And, dropping earthward, mutters 
That he's a real quadruped, 
And better-born and better-bred 

Than any bird that flutters. 



" In short' the wretch in turn attacks 
Both bird and beast behind their backs, 

And even dares to slander 
At times our royal selves, alas ! 
And says that you are half an ass, 

And I am quite a gander." 



72 THE LION AND THE EAGLE. 

"What! half an ass!" the Lion cried, 
" My majesty thus vilified ! 

The bat — by all that's regal — 
No more shall tread the earth, I swear." 
" Nor shall it ever mount in air 

Again," replied the Eagle. 



And thus from earth and air outlaw' d, 
(For both the monarehs are abroad 

By day in their dominions,) 
The bat is forced to shun the light, 
And only dares to ply at night 

His solitary pinions. 



So merchant-authors — they who range 
Between Parnassus and the 'Change, 

Sole denizens of neither — 
Who seek to play a double game, 
To grub for gold and fly at fame, 

Are seldom bless'd with either, 



73 



FABLE XXVII. 



Hai trages propios de algunas profesiones literarias, con los quales aparen- 
tan muchos el talento que no tienen. 



THE MONKEY. 

The proverb says — and so say I — 
That clothe a monkey as you will, 

In any dress of any dye, 

He will but be a monkey still ; 

And hence, to prove the proverb true, 

My present fable takes its cue. 

Upon a time, then — to begin 
From the beginning, and relate 

The story as I find it in 
A chronicle of ancient date, 



74 THE MOKKEY. 

That slumbers on a convent shell* 
Unread by any save myself — 

A Monkey, on a certain day, 
Had dress' d his person in a suit 

Of clothes so singularly gay 

And many-colour' d, that the brute 

Unto a chance- observer might 

Have seem'd a "tumbler stage-bedight." 

Perhaps they were his master's gift— 
For, verily, with all his art 

He scarcely could have made a shift 
To make a suit so very smart ; 

Or, tempted by the rich brocade, 

Perhaps he stole them ready-made ; 

Perhaps — But why should I digress, 
And nicely canvass pro and con 



* The nimblest tumbler stage-bedight 

To thee is but a clumsy wight. — Joanna BailUe. 



THE MONKEY. 75 

His right and title to the dress, 

Or how the deuce he put it on ? 
My proper task is but to tell 
The consequences that befell. 

ApparelTd, then, from head to heel, 
The Monkey felt at once, I ween, 

As women in such cases feel, 
A furious longing to be seen — 

As knowing that the costliest dress, 

If not display' d, is valueless ; 

And knowing, too, with what delight 
His native tribe beyond the main 

"Would greet the unaccustom'd sight, 
He made an effort, broke his chain, 

And, leaping through the' window, ran 

Along the road to Tetuan. 

But how he travell'd night and day, 
Without a guide or guide-book, o'er 



76 THE MOXKEY, 

The mountain range, and found his way 

From the sierra to the shore ; 
And how he cross' d the narrow sea 
That severs Spain from Barbary ; 

"Whether, embarking in a boat. 

He drifted over with the tide, 
Or, like Leander, dofFd his coat, 

And swam unto the other side — 
Are points admitting of dispute, 
On which my chronicle is mute. 

For here the writer, though he is 
On most occasions most exact, 

Grows unaccountably remiss, 

And merely states the meagre fact, 

That on a time the Monkey ran 

Away, and got to Tetaan. 

But round him. when he reach' d the place, 
A troop of naked monkeys press' d 3 



THE MONKEY. 

With wonder stamp' d on every face, 

To welcome the distinguished guest, 
"Whom Providence, they all agreed, 
Had sent them in their hour of need, 



For having on that morning plann'd 

A forage party to explore 
A distant quarter of the land, 

The tribe had met upon the shore 
To choose a captain whose address 
And knowledge might ensure success. 

When thinking it beyond dispute, 
That one who strutted in a pair 

Of breeches must be more acute 
Than if he went exposed and bare, 

They judged him fit to lead the host, 

And proffer' d him nem. eon. the post. 

So stepping with a stately stride, 
Like one accustom' d to command, 



77 



78 THE MONKEY. 

Our hero undertook to guide 

The tribe unto the promised land ; 
But, knowing nothing of the way. 
He led them presently astray. 

And day by day, through wet or dry, 
By sand or swamp — a barren waste, 

That yielded not the least supply 
Adapted to the monkey taste — 

"Without an interval of rest, 

He kept them on their fruitless quest. 

Till grown as lean as Pharoah's kine, 
And forced by hunger to confess 

That, though his dress was wondrous fine, 
Their leader was without address, 

The troop dismiss' d him with disgrace, 

And chose another in his place. 

The moral of the tale is plain : — 
A man may wear a doctor's gown, 



THE MONKEY. 79 

But still, despite his garb, retain 

The mind and manners of a clown; 
For, clothe a booby as you will, 
What is he but a booby still? 



80 



FABLE XXVIII. 



Nadie emprenda obra superior a sus fiierzas. 



THE TURNSPIT AND THE ASS. 

The reader, who has ever been 
In inn or convent, must have seen 
A strange cylindrical machine 

To turn a spit — 
A wooden wheel, with many a cog 
Or step within, and set agog 
By the momentum of a dog, 

Who climbs in it. 

A cur, who once began to find 
This treadmill of the kitchen kind 
A tiresome task, and felt inclined 

To take the air, 



THE TUENSPIT AND THE ASS. 81 

Exclaim' d, "Alas! I ache with pain, 
And, after all, I only gain 
Some bone that makes me long in vain 
For better fare. 

" Why should I stay for ever mew'd, 
To lick my lips for lack of food, 
The slave of man's ingratitude, 

When I may flee, 
And leave each object of my hate, 
My spit and master, to their fate, 
To rust and starve in idle state 

For want of me ?" 

He watch' d his time, and left the cage — 
But, ere he had got half a stage 
Beyond the town, his puppy rage 

Was roused anew ; 
For, as he clombe a mountain side, 
Another wheel more huge and wide 
To which a weary Ass was tied, 

Appear' d in view. 

G 



82 THE TURNSPIT AJsD THE ASS. 

" I pity th.ee, poor patient Ass, 
For thou art roasting meat, alas ! 
And niindest me of what I was," 

The Turnspit cried. 
" God help thee for thy little wit ! 
I am not drudging at a spit, 
But drawing water from a pit," 

The Ass replied. 

"True," quoth the cur, :i I see it now ; 

But what a bungling beast art thou ! 
I'll share thy task, and shew thee how 

It should be done ; 
For though thy wheel exceeds a score 
Of such as I have turn'd before, 
And weighs a hundred- weight or more. 

The more's the fun. 

"I'll work, and earn enough to-day 
To keep us for a week in play" — 
But here the Ass, with scornful bray, 

Resumed at length : 



THE TURNSPIT AND THE ASS. 83 

" Return, poor truant, to thy spit — 
'Twas made for thee, and thou for it ; 
And work like mine would ill befit 

A puppy's strength." 

Let every bard consult the line 
('Tis Horace' s # advice and mine) 
To which his talents most incline, 

And ascertain 
The measure of his powers ; for he 
May turn a sonnet cleverly, 
To whom the epic song would be 

Too hard a strain. 



* Sumite materiam vestris, qui scribitis, sequam 
Viribus, et versate diu, quid ferre recusent, 
Quid valeant humeri. — Ars Poetica. 



&2 



84 



FABLE XXIX. 



Hai casos en que es necessaria la critica severa. 



THE EAT AXD THE ATTTHOB. 

A Eat, that once, by some unlucky doom, 
Had made its way into an author's room, 
Began, in quest of food, with curious snout, 
To rummage it industriously throughout, 
But finding it. if not entirely hare, 
Too sparely furnish' d to have aught to spare, 
At last, for lack of meal, or any mite 
That might have better pleased its appetite, 
Was forced, by hunger's long-protracted throes, 
To make a meal on scraps of verse and prose, 



THE RAT AND THE AUTHOR. 85 

And though at first averse to such a course, 
Submitted to it as its sole resource, 
And eating now an essay, now an ode, 
Abode contented in its new abode. 



At length the owner, seeing with dismay 

His manuscripts diminish day by day, 

Began to smell a rat, and guess 5 d the kind 

Of guest that at his cost so freely dined. 

He tried a trap, to ascertain the fact, 

And catch the culprit in the very act; 

He tried a cat, too, who could not refuse 

Her help unto a man who loved the Mews; 

But every scheme in which he put his trust 

Was foil'd — the glutton would not bite the dust. 

In vain Grimalkin kept upon the watch, 

The Eat was shy, and came not to the scratch ; 

Was up to trap, too, and forbore to wet 

A whisker in the poison nightly set; 

In short, by chewing literary fare, 

It managed to eschew each various snare, 



8b THE EAT AXD THE AUTHOR. 

And still remained at large, a harden' d thief, 
Though often turning over a new leaf. 

One effort more, ere yet it was too late, 

Our author made; and, hoping to abate 

The nuisance or suppress it, put to press 

Some manuscripts — but still without success. 

The Eat upon the printed copies fell 

"With tooth and nail, and liked them just as well, 

Bored through the boards with all a bookworm's rage, 

And grubb'd, in search of grub, from page to page ; # 

And even when, in his despair, the man 

Of learning, hitting on another plan 

To save his literary treasures, spread 

A litter of blank paper in their stead 



* This line was suggested by the recollection of a similar one in the fol- 
lowing unpublished improptu — 

WJiat is a Bookworm ? 
What is a Bookworm? Tell me, if you can; 
I do not mean the insect, but the man. 

Answer. 
A reptile whom a wit like Hood might dub 
A grub that grubs in Grub-street for its grub. 



THE EAT AND THE ATJTHOK. 87 

About the room, the reptile, far too wise 
To think that any blank would prove a prize, 
Eejected the carte-hlanche, and merely nibbled, 
As heretofore, the printed or the scribbled. 

" How hard a fate," the Author cried, " is mine, 

Compell'd to labour that a Eat may dine, 

And glut his greedy tooth with prose and rhyme 

That promised to defy the tooth of Time ! 

Condemn' d to penury, in an attic placed, 

I write for one who hath no Attic taste, 

And waste my precious ink" — but with the word 

Another and a better scheme occurr'd, 

And, drugging with corrosive sublimate 

His ink, he wrote, inspired by deadly hate, 

~No matter what — his hopes were ratified, 

The Eat devour' d the manuscript, and died. 

Of such a fate let certain critics — they 
Who look on every author as their prey, 
Who nibble at his fame, and never spare 
The choicest products of the brain — beware ; 



88 THE EAT AlO) THE AUTHOR. 

For authors may retort, and, now and then, 
Some irritated bard will dip his pen 
In venom, and review in " words that burn" # 
His dastardly reviewers in their turn. 



* Scatters from her pictured urn 
Thoughts that breathe and words that burn. — Gray, 



89 



FABLE XXX. 



Quando un Autor ha llegado a ser famoso, todo se le aplaude. 



THE PETIT-MAITRE. 

Sie Haery, who was reckon' d far and near 

A paragon of elegance and taste, 
Because he wore some forty suits a year, 

And spent his money with the wildest waste — 

Determined, for a whim, to put his fame 
Unto the proof, and, purchasing a pair 

Of cheap and showy bracelets, gave the same, 
Upon her birth-day, to his favourite fair. 

" A thousand thanks, dear Hal !" exclaim'd the maid, 
"What lovely bracelets ! how these brilliants shine ! 



90 THE PETIT-OIAITEE. 

So rich a gift can never be repaid ! 

No taste is half so exquisite as thine !" 

So should some fashionable author write 
A worthless booh, the public, I'll engage, 

Will hail it with extravagant delight. 

And swear that genius beams from every page. 



91 



FABLE XXXI. 



TambieD en la Literatura suele dominar el espiritu de paisanage. 



THE OSTBICH, THE DEOMEDAKY AND THE EOX. 

Although they never meet like men 

To play at hazard or ecarte, 
The beasts assemble now and then, 
And hold in some sequester' d glen 

A conversazione party. 

And thus it chanced one evening, that 

A troop of them had got together, 
When, after some prelusive chat — 
Some twaddle, just as stale and flat 
As Englishmen's about the weather — 



92 THE OSTRICH, THE DEOMEDAET AND THE FOX. 

They straight proceeded to descant 
And comment on the different merits 

Which every creature — from the ant 

Unto the mighty elephant — 
According to its kind, inherits. 

" Of all the animals that live," 

The Ostrich cried, "and with all deference 

For other's sentiments, I give, 

Without a single 'but 9 or 'if,' 

The Dromedary much the preference." 

The Dromedary, thus preferr'd, 

Eepaid in kind the obligation, 
And said in language as absurd: 
"In aught that may become a bird, 

The Ostrich * whips' the whole creation" 

The rest, who heard them with surprise 

And laughter which they scarce could smother, 
Were sorely puzzled to surmise 
What motive such a pair of "Guys" 
Could have for praising one another. 



THE OSTRICH, THE DROMEDARY A^ T D THE FOX. 93 

Was it, perchance, because the twain 
Had scraggy necks and burly bodies, 

And heads too little to contain 

A greater quantity of brain 

Than might be lodged within a noddy's ? 

Or might it be that both possess' d 

Peculiar organs of digestion ?* 
Or was it — but in vain they guess' d, 
And tried to solve what seem'd, at best, 

A difficult and doubtful question. 

Till just as they began to pause, 

Bewilder' d in their speculation, 
The Pox exclaim' d : " I think the cause 
Of this reciprocal applause 

Admits of easy explanation. 

" The creatures are compatriots, born 
And bred in Araby the Stony ; 



* In the Spanish — 

" i O porque tienen en el pecho un callo ?" 



94 THE 0STKICH, THE BEOMEDAET AXD THE FOX. 

And hence, despite the general scorn, 
With fancied charms they each adorn 
And over-rate their brother crony."* 

The Fox conjectured not amiss ; 

And, in the commonwealth of letters, 
A wretched author often is, 
From motives as absurd as this, 

Preferr'd and praised above his betters. 



* Amor patriae ratione valentior omni. 

Ovid. Ex Ponto, Epist. III., Lib. I 



95 



FABLE XXXII. 



A los que compran libros solo por la enquadernacion. 



THE GIPSY S ASS. 

Ye steed at I chanced to pass 
In the market-place an Ass, 
Dress' d and dizen'd for the fair 
In a style that made me stare. 
He conld hardly step or straddle 
Underneath his ample saddle, 
And his netted breeching, bonnd 
With a fringe that swept the ground ; 
"While his new, or newly varnished, 
Bridle was profusely garnished 
With some dozen bells that rang 
With a never-ceasing clang. 



96 the gipsy's ass. 

Ribbons of the brightest hue, 
Green and yellow, red and blue, 
Each, like bannerols outspread, 
Flared and nutter' d from his head ; 
And a plume of feathers on it, 
Such as deck a Paris bonnet, 
Toppled o'er his ears and face 
With a most seductive grace. 
Tet the Ass was weak and old, 
Fit for nought but — to be sold. 
This the knave who own'd it knew, 
Vagrant of a gipsy crew, 
And, to trick some simple buyer, 
Trick' d it in this strange attire. 
He succeeded ; for a clown 
Saw it, as he paced the town, 
Liked it well, and, in a trice 
Paying down the Gipsy's price, 
Took it home, and, full of glee, 
Call'd his neighbours forth to see 
What a bargain he had both in 
Such a beast and such a clothing. 



the gipsy's ass. 97 

But amid the long and loud 
Plaudits of the wondering crowd, 
One more prudent than the rest, 
Half in earnest, half in jest, 
Thus his sentiments express' d : 
" There's a proverb — I have faith 
In all adages — which saith, 
' 'Ware the pig that's in a poke — 
'Ware the maid that's in a cloak. 
If you would not be trepann'd, 
Let them both be strictly scann'd.' 
So this Ass of thine, I fear, 
May, despite its goodly gear, 
Prove a bargain blindly bought, 
"Worth intrinsically nought. 
Strip it, then, and let us see 
What its worth may really be. 7 ' 

When the donkey's gear was off, 
How the crowd began to scoff ! 
Where the pad had press' d, they saw 
Both its shoulders rubb'd and raw ; 

H 



98 the gipsy's ass. 

On its buttocks scores of bunions, 
Clustering like a rope of onions ; 
On its belly many a sore 
"Which the girth conceal' d before ; 
Corns and warts as big as eggs, 
Sprains and spavins in its legs — ■ 
But the muse grows too minute ; 
Header, let us cut the brute. 

'Mid the laughter that ensued 
From the mocking multitude, 
Still a voice above the rest 
Thus the silly clown address' d : — 
" What a creature ! By the mass, 
This can scarce be call'd an Ass ; 
'Tis a counterfeit, and thou 
Art the real ass, I vow." 

Thus, to end my fable — for all 
Apologues must have a moral — 
Many a blockhead merely looks 
To the covers of his books ; 



the gipsy's ass. 99 

In their purchase never minding, 
If the gilding and the binding 
Please his eye, though all within 
Be not worth a single pin — 
Buying, like a foolish fellow, 
" Nought but leather and prunella." 



h2 



100 



FABLE 



El libro que de suyo es malo, no dexa de serlo porque tenga tal qual cosa 
buena. 



THE WOLE AXD THE SHEPHEED. 

A "Wolf, that chanced, at close of day, 

To meet a Shepherd on his way, 

Accosted, in a crafty strain 

Of courtesy, the startled strain : 

" I marvel much, my friend," said he, 

" At your antipathy to me. 

Eor though I know that common fame 

Hath given me an evil name, 

Yet, if the case were fairly tried, 

ISTo brute was ever more belied. 

I scorn to wrong you ; and, instead 

Of meriting dislike or dread, 



THE WOLF AZS T D THE SHEPHERD. 101 

Deserve your gratitude, in fact, 

By many a serviceable act. 

My skin defends you in its fold 

From summer's heat and winter's cold ; 

My very teeth — of which the sight 

Appears to fill you with affright — 

Assist the gilder to impart 

Their burnish unto works of art ; 

My claws a certain cure supply 

For every ailment of the eye ; 

And, rightly seethed, my fat distils 

An unguent for a host of ills." 



"Accursed animal!" replied 

The Shepherd, " thou art not belied ! 

For while the business of thy life 

Is rapine, treachery and strife, 

The trifling merit that can be 

In any way ascribed to thee, 

If multiplied a hundred times, 

Would not atone for half thy crimes." 



102 THE WOLF AJSD THE SHEPHEKD. 

A reader might with justice say 
The like of many a modern lay. 
For thus, if vice inspire the strain, 
No art can wash away the stain, 
No wit, no harmony redeem 
The inherent baseness of the theme ; 
And every worthy man will curse, 
Howe'er it flow, # the guilty verse. 



* Curst be the verse, how well soe'er it flow, 
That tends to make one worthy man my foe. — Pope, 



103 



FABLE XXXIV. 



Muy necio y envidioso es quien afea mi pequeno descuido en una obra grande, 



THE OX AND THE GEASSHOPPEE. 

As Ox was toiling at the plough, 
"When from the sod, with shrilly cry, 

A Grasshopper exclaim' d : " I vow, 
That furrow, friend, is quite awry." 

" 'Tis true," the patient Ox replied ; 

" But blame me not — for could you tell 
That this was warp'd, if those beside 

Were not exactly parallel ? 

" I do my best, and work for one, 
A kindly master, who will make, 



104 THE OX AXD THE GKRASSHOPPEK. 

Since all the rest is rightly done, 
Allowance for a small mistake." 

So critics often overlook 

A thousand beauties, to derect 

Some trifling blemish in a book, 
And damn it for that one defect. 



105 



EABLE XXXV. 



Ordinariamente no es Escritor de gran meVito el que hace venal el ingenio, 



THE MACAW AND THE MARMOT. 

A bird of bright plumage, a scarlet Macaw, 
As it gazed from its perch in a balcony, saw 
An ugly Marmot, which a barefooted boy, 
A vagabond fresh from the Alps of Savoy, 
Was showing, as something exceedingly rare, 
To a crowd of admirers below in the square. 

"How strange," cried the bird in the balcony, when 
It had gazed for a space, " is the conduct of men ! 
For while they are willing to pay for the sight 
Of a creature like this — a ridiculous fright, 
They hardly bestow a regard upon me, 
Though I am as lovely as lovely can be, 



106 THE MACAW AOT THE MARMOT. 

And all who may happen to come by the way 
Are welcome to see me without any pay. 
Yet the beast may be rare, and the rabble below 
May deem it, no doubt, a delectable show ; 
But I, for the life of me, cannot- admire 
A creatine that lets out its talents for hire, 
And think that, whatever attainments may fall 
To its share, its venality cancels them all." 

It chanced that an author, in passing along, 
Had paused for a while in the midst of the throng. 

At the speech of the bird he slunk, blushing, away. 
For he was a hack in a bookseller's pay — 
A writer of all work, professedly hired 
To scribble whatever his master required. 



107 



FABLE XXXVI. 



Si es vicioso el uso de voces extrangeras modernamente introducidas, tambien 
lo es, por el contrario, el de las antiquadas. 



THE POETKAIT PAI^TEE. 



The swarms of Gallic phrases winch of late 
Have crept, like wasps, into the Spanish hive, 
And spoil' d onr honied idiom, are my hate ; 
Nor less I hate those writers, who revive 
Dead diction that was worthless when alive.* 



* Some, by old words, to fame have made pretence, 
Ancients in phrase, meer moderns in their sense ; 
Such labour'd nothings, in so strange a style, 
Amaze th' unlearn'd, and make the learned smile. 
Unlucky, as Fungoso in the play, 
These sparks, with awkward vanity, display 
What the fine gentleman wore yesterday j 
And bat so mimic ancient wits at best, 
As apes our grandsires, in their doublets drest. 

Pope. 



108 THE POETEAIT PAIXTEE. 

These lovers of tlie obsolete and vile 
Remind me of a tale, in which I'll strive- 
By telling it in their own motley style, 
Half modern ; half antique — to make my reader smile.. 

ii. 

A certain Painter, seeing with despight 
How much mankind were prone to over-rate 
The ancient artists, fancied that he might, 
By mimicking their quaint costume, amate 
His pictnrals with those of olden date ; 
So beins: bidden on a time to take 
The semblannt of a knight of high estate, 
He thought, for greater fame and Incre's sake. 
To paint it in a garb of antiquated make. 

in. 

So whenas he had cunningly pourtray'd 
The visnomie as like as like mote be, 
And, limning forth the figure, had array' d 
The same in vestiments most strange to see, 
In sort as thev were fashion' d formerlie — 



THE PORTRAIT PAINTER. 109 

He took the picture, certain of success, 
Unto the knight, who view'd with mickle gree 
The perfect pourtraicture, but natheless 
Y-marvelTd much to find it dight in such a dress. 

IT. 

But eftsoons he avized within his mind 
A method to discharge the Painter's score, 
By which he mote apay him kind for kind ; 
For recollecting that he had a store 
Of coins which had been stricken long afore, 
In times ere Spain, the thrall of Moorish sway, 
Expell'd the swarthy paynim from her shore, 
He fet them from the scryne in which they lay, 
And tender' d them unto the Painter for his pay. 

Y. 

""Why, this barbaric coin," the Painter cried, 
"Will buy ne meat, ne drink — I'll none of it." 
"None other hast thou earn'd," the knight replied, 
" For n'is that dress, thou man of little wit, 
For modern usance equally unfit ? 



110 „ THE POETEAIT PAIXTEB. 

A dress which now — albe it whilom might 
Have graced a king or kezar, I admit — 
Beseems an alguazil, but not a kniglit ; 
Thy wage is like thy work, and thon art well acquiglrt 

TI. 

" But take the portraict back, amend its guise, 
Transmew the plumy helm into a hat, 
Reduce that sword to half its present size, 
And doff the coUar for a plain cravat ; 
For certes, if in gere the like of that 
I were to go abroad, my sibs would say, 
'"What sort of wight is this? we know him nat.' 
Then when the whole is set in right array, 
Thy guerdon shall be paid in coinage of the day.' 

Til. 

]S"ow turn we from the pencil to the pen — 
And, reader, if the Painter's folly raise 
Thy smile, bestow a smile on authors, when 
They copy, with the hope to win thy praise. 
The phraseology of ancient days : 



THE PORTRAIT PAINTER. Ill 

As if tlie refuse and the trash of yore — 
Each coarse habiliment or coarser phrase, 
Coeval with the Cid Compeador — 
Deserved to be revived, and last for evermore. 



112 



FABLE XXXYII. 



Suelen ciertos Autores sentar como principios iufalibles del arte aquello mismo 
que ellos practican. 



THE COCK, THE HOG AXD THE LAMB. 

Within a narrow paddock were confined 
Three ariiiiials, who managed, strange to say. 

Though differing in character and kind, 
To live together in a friendly way ; — 

A Hog that ever in its sty reclined, 

A Cock, whose crowing heralded the day. 

And, last and least experienced of the three, 

A Lamb whose limbs were all alive with glee. 

The Hog, upon a time, address' d the Lamb : — 
" Believe me, youngster, what we most require 

Is sleep. Behold how sleek and fat I am, 

Who snore from morn till night, and never tire. 



THE COCK, THE HOG AND THE LAMB. 113 

All other joys of life are but a sham, 
Unless it be to guzzle in the mire; 
In short, the chief felicity of sheep, 
As well as swine, consists, my friend, in sleep." 

The Cock, upon another time, began: 
"Attend to my advice, my pretty dear — 

Resolve to sleep as little as you can, 

And rise before the sun throughout the year. 

Expert o crede, 'tis the only plan 

To keep the circulation brisk and clear; 

For sluggishness is hurtful to our kind, 

And enervates the body and the mind." 

The Lamb, at first, was puzzled and surprised; 

But when at length, on second thoughts, he guess'd 
That both his counsellors had but advised 

The course of life that pleased themselves the best, 
And suited best their natures, he despised 

Their selfish promptings, and at once profess'd 
That he would sleep or wake, as instinct might 
Direct him — for she would direct aright. 



114 THE COCK, THE HOG AND THE LAMB, 

Thus many an author is disposed to draw 
His precepts from his practice, and impose 

On others, who are juvenile and raw, 
His own peculiarities, as those 

Which ought to form a precedent and law 
For all who would excel in verse or prose; 

But genius teaches an unerring way, 

"While rules of art too often lead astray. 



115 



FABLE XXXVIII. 



Quien escribe para el publico, y no escribe bien, no debe fundar su disculpa 
en el rnal gusto del vulgo. 



THE ASS AJsD HIS MASTEE. 

" The vulgar have no taste — and every piece, 

Good, bad, or middling, is alike to them ; 
For, right or wrong, and merely as caprice 

May actuate, they praise it or condemn. 
Hence I who cater for them, though I could 
Produce far better dramas if I would, 

Supply them with indifferent ones, because, 
"While costing me less labour than the good, 

They win me, or may win, as much applause." 

A scribe, who pander' d to a vicious age 
By writing ribald farces for the stage, 
i 2 



116 THE ASS A]SD HIS MASTER. 

In words like these attempted to excuse 
The wilful prostitution of his Muse ; 
But a shrewd critic, who was standing by 
And heard him, made this apposite reply : — 
" Once on a time, a peasant had an Ass, 

Which he was wont to feed with straw alone, 
And, as he fed it, still his custom was 

To taunt the brute in a sarcastic tone. 
c This straw is sorry provender/ he cried, 

c But, luckily, thy palate is not nice, 
And since thou eatest and art satisfied, 

Why, so am I — and think it may suffice 
As well as any that I might provide 

Of better quality and higher price. 5 
At length, impatient of the frequent gibe, 
Though patience is the badge of all the tribe, 
The creature turn'd, and with distended jaw 
Beproachfijlly address' d the man of straw : 
1 If. forced by hunger — for an ass must live — 
I eat whatever trash you chuse to give, 
Think not that I'm content with it ; for I, 

Had I my wish, would rather have some wheat, 



THE ASS AND HIS MASTEE. 117 

And would you but afford me a supply, 
I'd thank you for so exquisite a treat, 
And prove how heartily an Ass could eat.' " 

Let trashy dramatists no more impute 

To lack of public taste their own demerit ; 

The public, though a much-enduring brute, 

Believe me, is sufficiently acute, 

If they would treat her better, to prefer it. 



118 



FABLE XXXIX. 



A los que se aprovechan de las noticias de otros, y tienen la ingratitud 
de no citarlos. 



THE SPOBTSMA1S" AJZD THE EEEEET. 

Hale dead witli heat and thirst and toil, 
A Sportsman, at the close of day, 

Eetnrning homeward with his spoil, 
O'ertook a neighbour on the way, 

And, sportsman-like, began to brag 

About the contents of his bag. 

"Although, beneath the scorching ray, 
Since morn I've traversed many a league, 



THE SPOETSMAK A5s T D THE EEREET. 119 

These rabbits," lie observed, " repay 

Abundantly the day's fatigue. 
I never had such luck before, 
And must have caught at least a score. 

" I scorn to boast, my friend — but see, 
Nay, feel them, count them if you will, 

A catch like this, you must agree, 
Evinces most uncommon skill, 

And proves that in the district round 

No better Sportsman can be found." 

Just then the Ferret at his back, 

Indignantly protruding out, 
Between the meshes of the sack 

In which it swung, its pointed snout, 
Exclaim' d : " Allow me, I beseech, 
A word of comment on your speech. 

" Within their burrows safe and sound 
These rabbits might be lurking yet, 



120 THE SPOBTSMAN AND THE EEEEET. 

Had I not track' d them under- ground 

And driven them into the net ; 
Whilst you had nought to do, but stand 
And take them as they came to hand. 

" I work'd the most ; and why, I pray, 

If any honour can accrue 
From aught that has been done to-day, 

Should it be all engross' d by you ? 
Some little praise, methinks, might be 
Bestow' d deservedly on me." 

But, treating the imputed wrong 
And just reproof with cold disdain, 

The Sportsman, as he trudged along, 
Persisted in his braggart strain, 

Still arrogating all the merit, 

Without allusion to the Ferret. 

Thus, plagiarists, intent on spoil, 
Unscrupulously ply their trade, 



THE SPORTSMAN AND THE FERRET. 121 

And, profiting by others' toil, 

"Without acknowledging the aid, 
Derive their literary fame 
Prom sources which they never name. 



122 



FABLE XL. 



A ciertos libros se les hace demasiado favor en criticarlos. 



THE PHILOSOPHER AXD THE LIZARDS. 

A Philosopher one day, 
(For philosophers should stray 
From their folios, to look, 
JSTow and then, at Xature's book,) 
As he took his evening -walk, 
Found two Lizards on a stalk, 
Whose micomnion shape and size 
So excited his surprise, 
That, the better to inspect them, 
He determined to dissect them, 
And at once removed the brace 
From their pleasant resting-place ; 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THE LIZABDS. 123 

Then selecting first, for matter 

Of experiment, the fatter, 

"With a cut from tail to snout 

Turned the creature inside out, 

And with scientific stare, 

As it lay exposed and bare, 

Scann'd the disembowell'd mass 

Through a microscopic glass. 

Back and belly, gut and gizzard, 

Every portion of the Lizard, 

Toss'd and tumbled topsy-turvy, 

Underwent the strictest survey ; 

And our sage, when he had finger' d 

Every scrap of it, and linger' d 

For a length of time in mute 

Admiration of the brute, 

Seized, like one inspired, his pen, 

Wrote and mused and wrote, — and then 

Plied his butchering task agen. 

While he ponder' d thus with pleasure, 
Like a miser, o'er his treasure, 



124 THE PHILOSOPHER AND THE LIZAEDS. 

To the scene of slaughter some 
Brother sages chanced to come ; 
And no sooner saw him than, 
Gathering round him, they began 
To philosophize with him 
O'er each lacerated limb, 
And, with equal frenzy fired, 
Cavil!' d, question 5 d and admired. 



Satisfied, at last, with his 

Long and learn' d analysis, 

Our anatomist withdrew 

Erom the spot with all his crew ; 

But, ere he departed, he 

Set the other Lizard free, 

Who, retreating to his small 

Dwelling in a garden-wall, 

Told his friends about his capture 

And the crowd's excessive rapture. 

" Though the tale may seem to be 

Hardly credible," said he, 



THE PHILOSOPHER AJ$T> THE LIZARDS. 125 

" With these eyes I saw a score 

Of Philosophers, or niore, 

Stand, for half a day at least, 

Grazing at the dear deceased. 

Writers err, when they describe 

Lizards as a reptile tribe. 

Were we not of higher birth 

Than the grab that licks the earth, 

Would a virtuoso skin us 

To examine what's within us, 

And with such a wondering look 

Put it all into a book ? 

No — 'tis obvious that we are 

Of a nobler nature far ; 

And the very men, who thus 

Wilfully disparage us, 

Must, whate'er they say, respect us — 

Or they never would dissect us." 



Does not many a worthless scribe 
Argue like the Lizard tribe ? 



126 THE PHILOSOPHER A1S T D THE LIZARDS. 

For, howe'er the critics may 
Cut them up, the reptiles say : 
" We hare merit ; and the fact, 
That our slightest works attract 
Critical attention, is 
An unerring proof of this. 
For, whatever they may write 
In their jealousy and spite, 
Critics certainly respect us — 
Or they never would dissect us." 



127 



FABLE XLI. 









En ninguna facultad puede adelantar el que no se sujeta a principios. 
THE TIGHT-BOPE DAIS'CEE AtfD HIS PUPIL. 

A certain tight-rope dancer had 

A pupil, an unlucky lad — 

A lad possess' d of some ability, 

But fill'd with self-conceit, and prone 
To trust, in matters of agility, 

Unto his native parts alone. 

One morning, when the youngster came 
To take his customary lesson, 

" This pole," he mutter'd, " which you name 
The counterpoise, and lay such stress on, 



128 THE TIGKET-EOPE DANCER AND HIS PUPIL. 

Instead, my master, as you say, 

Of helping me to cut a figure, 
The pole is sadly in my way, 

And paralyzes all my vigour. 
A Diligencia, forced to lag 
Beneath the pressure of its drag,* 
Is less impeded on the road, 

Than I, with limbs alert and limber, 
Am cramp 'd and crippled by the load 

Of this confounded piece of timber. 
I'll fling the useless thing away, 

And soon convince you, if you doubt it, 
That any nimble dancer may 

Perform, at least, as well without it. 

"'Tis gone — and now observe me, how 
Intrepidly I tread the rope! 



* The Spanish Diligencia, or public coach, is provided, like its French 
namesake, with a simple piece of machinery, by which a strong bar of 
wood is made to press against the hinder wheels and retard their motion 
in descending a declivity — thus answering all the purposes of the English 
drag-chain, with the additional advantage, that the driver is enabled to 
apply it without quitting his seat and stopping the vehicle. 



THE TIGHT ROPE DA1STCEE AITC) HIS PUPIL. 129 

It seems as if my limbs till now 

Had never had sufficient scope. 
I feel so unconfined and free 
That I could dance for very glee ; 
In short, I feel" — But while he spoke, 
He lost his balance, fell, and broke 
A brace of ribs. "Unhappy boy!" 
The Master cried, with secret joy, 
"Thy self-conceit, which made thee fling, 

As an impediment, away 
The counterpoise — the very thing 

Which might have proved thy surest stay — 
Is rightly punish' d ; but the fall, 

However painful, will not be 
"Without its use, if it recall 

This truth in after years to thee : — 
That he who scorns the aid of art, 
Is sure to stumble in his part." 



130 



FABLE XLII. 



Por mas ridiculo que sea el estilo retumbante, siempre habra necios que 
le aplaudan, s61o por la razon de que se quedan sin entenderle. 



THE CAT, THE LIZAED AKD THE CRICKET. 

Some animals are very scientific, 
And have for every ailment a specific ; 
In fact, they regulate their whole organic 
Construction by a process quite botanic. 
They know each herb, and whether diuretic, 
Cathartic, or narcotic, or emetic, 
If febrifuge, or styptic, or prolific, 
Cephalic, sedative, or sudorific. 

A Cat, a most pedantic rhetorician, 
In points of science, too, a strict precisian, 
Who always spoke in diction as emphatic 
As any rhymster ranting in his attic, 



THE CAT, THE LIZAED A^D THE CEICKET. 131 

One day address' d himself unto a Lizard 

In terms that would have posed a witch or wizzard : 

" My friend, when I feel turgid or hydropic, 

I always masticate some lieiiotropic" 

The Lizard, though she knew her own vernacular, 
Was puzzled by a sentence so oracular, 
And understood as little of the topic 
As if the Cat had talk'd in ^Ethiopic ; 
Till having chanced to notice her eccentrical 
Companion cramming what he call'd his ventricle 
With sun-flower leaves, "Ha, ha/ ' she cried ecstatically, 
"I have it, though you talk so enigmatically — 
The sun-flower, I suppose, is heliotropic, 
And you, just now, I guess, sir, are hydropic. 
But, since the meaning of a speech or lecture 
Should not, I think, be left unto conjecture, 
I'll frankly say, without the least apology, 
That I prefer more simple phraseology." 

But, thinking differently, a tasteless Cricket 
Who heard the speech from an adjoining thicket, 
k2 



132 THE CAT, THE LIZAED A2s"D THE CRICKET. 

And, though he found it quite incomprehensible, 

Concluded from the sound that it was sensible, 
Ext oil' d, in terms the most encomiastic, 
A Cat who spoke in language so scholastic. 

Some writers, thus, especially of lyrics, 

Are, like the Cat, ridiculous empirics, 

And use a style so hard and cabalistical 

That any meaning which they have is mystical — 

A bloated style, preposterously pedantic, 

"With words of sound uncouth and bulk gigantic,* 

Enough to drive a common reader frantic. 

To lash these lovers of the hyperbolic, 

I haye devised this fable ; and, in frolic, 

To point its application more sarcastically, 

Haye mimick'd them, and written it bombastically. 



* Words of gigantic bulk and uncouth sound.— Gifford. 



133 



FABLE XLIII. 



La Literatura es la profesion en que mas se verifica el proverbio : i Quien 
es tu enemigo? El de tu oficio. 



THE EOX AKD THE CATEEPILLAE. 

The reader, peradventure, may 

Remember how tlie brute creation 
Assembled, on a certain day, 

For scientific conversation, 
And bow tbat most ungainly brace, 

The Ostrich and the Dromedary, 
Bepraised each other, face to face, 

In terms so extraordinary, 
And how the Fox divined the cause 
Of their reciprocal applause ; # 

* Vide Fable xxxi., p. 91, 



134 THE POX AXD THE CATEBPILLAK. 

Well, if tlie courteous reader yet 
Eemeuiber thein, and wish to get 
Some further news about the set, 

I'll furnish him with information 
Of what befel them, when they met 

Upon a subsequent occasion. 

One evening, as their annals state, 

The Silkworm and its curious labours 
Became a subject of debate 

Among the congregated neighbours. 
"With ravish* d eyes they gazed upon 
The yellow threads, which, one by one, 
She wove around her, like a shroud ; 
But when the whole cocoon was spun, 
Its perfect fabrication won 

A peal of plaudits, long and loud, 
Eroni every quarter of the crowd. 
The sightless Mole himself express' d 
An equal rapture with the rest, 
And vow'd that he, though he had been 
A traveller from his youth, and seen 



THE FOX AND THE CATEEPILLAE. 135 

The strangest sights on earth and under, 
Had never seen so great wonder. 

But from a nook in which he toil'd, 

The Caterpillar dared to raise 
A murmur of dissent, that spoil 5 d 

The concord of the general praise ; 
And damning, in a coarse tirade, 
The tissue that the Silkworm made, 
Express' d surprise that any brute, 
Of understanding or repute, 
Should really condescend to stare 
A moment at such worthless ware. 

The other members of the club 

Received the speech with indignation, 
And marvelTd why so vile a grub 

Should deal in such vituperation ; 
But though they ponder' d and revolved 

The question long, it posed them quite, 
Until the Fox arose, and solved 

The secret of the creature's spite : 



136 THE FOX A]S T D THE CATEEPILLAB. 

"The Caterpillar is," said lie, 
" Himself a spinner, and prefers, 

Howe'er inferior it may be, 

The tissue that he spins to hers." 

Thus, envious scribes, to fame unknown, 
Decry their more illustrious brothers, 

As if they could enhance their own 
By censuring the works of others. 



137 



FABLE XLIV. 



Los que piensan que con citar una autoridad, buena 6 mala, quedan dis- 
culpados de qualquier yerro, no advierten que la verdad no puede ser 
mas de una, aunque las opiniones sean muchas. 






THE WATCHES. 



A teoop of friends, invited to a feast, 
Had all assembled, save a single guest, 
Who fail'd to join the party, till at least 
Three quarters of an hour behind the rest ; 
And as their hunger, it must be confess' d, 
Had not declined with the declining day, 
They one and all, when he arrived, express' d 
Impatience and surprise at his delay, 
And ask'd why he had crept or slept upon the way. 



138 THE "WATCHES. 



II. 



But heedless of their anger, and, in place 
Of supplicating their forgiveness, he 
Produced his watch, and pointed to its face, 
To prove his punctuality ; for " See," 
He cried, " the hand is on the stroke of three, 
And I am here, in fact, as you must know, 
Before the appointed time." — " It cannot be," 
The rest rejoin' d ; " your watch is much too slow — 
You should have been with us almost an hour ago." 



in. 



" Well, I can do no more, my friends, than cite 
My watch, which is, and ought to be, my guide ; 
I go by it, and if it be not right, 
The fault is none of mine," the man replied — 
A plea in which too many men confide, 
"Who think that any error or abuse 
"Wliich they commit is amply justified, 
If they can only manage to produce 
The least authority, by way of an excuse. 



THE WATCHES. 139 



IY. 



But, to return — at once, to end the doubt 
And ascertain the real time, they drew 
Their several watches confidently out ; 
But with the act their doubt the greater grew, 
For none were found alike, and which was true ? 
They differ' d widely — one had tick'd its last, 
And stopp'd, though not a stop-watch, just at two, 
While others had advanced as much too fast, 
And one was nearly four, and one a quarter past. 



At last, as their perplexity increased, 
The disputants decided to refer 
The question to the giver of the feast, 
Who settled it at once without demur ; 
For drawing forth a choice chronometer, 
Which, being regulated carefully 
By an exact meridian, could not err, 
He proved the actual time of day to be 
Eleven minutes and nine seconds after three. 



140 THE WATCHES. 

TI. 

Thus ended the dispute ; but at the close, 
The Host remark' d unto the gaping throng : 
" My friends, how plainly this example shows 
That all authorities, however strong 
And sure they seem, are apt to lead you wrong ! 
The best of them are fallible and frail ; 
But truth, imperishable truth, ere long, 
Although a thousand errors may assail, 
AVill triumph o'er them all, and in the end prevail." 



141 



FABLE XLV. 



A los que juntan muchos libros, y ninguno leen. 



THE OILMAN S ASS. 

An" Ass had trudged with many a skin 
Of olive oil from town to town, 

When, late at night, he reach' d an inn, 
And gladly laid his burthen down. 

But while his master took a seat 
Beside the fire within the hall, 

The beast, though fond of light and heat, 
"Was driven to a dismal stall ; 

And, stumbling on the slippery floor, 
And striking, as he groped his way, 



142 the oilman's ass. 

His head against the lowly door, 
Express' d his anguish in a bray. 

" 'Tis hard," he cried, "that all my toil 
Should be repaid with gloom and damp, 

And I, who carry so much oil, 
Be left without a single lamp !" 

The story of the Oilman's Ass 
Eeminds the moralizing muse 

Of coxcombs who collect a mass 

Of volumes which they ne'er peruse ; 

And unassisted by the light 

Of wit and wisdom on their shelves, 

Which might dispel their mental night, 
Are dull and in the dark themselves. 



143 



FABLE XLVI. 



Las portadas ostentosas de los libros enganan mucho. 



THE TRAVELLERS. 

A brace of Travellers chanced to lose their way 

Among the hills, and nearly were benighted, 
When luckily they reach' d, at close of day, 
A village, and alighted. 

For though they found no inn there, as they hoped, 
To shelter them from all their toils and dangers, 
The owners of two houses promptly oped 
Their gates unto the strangers. 

And, tempted by the proffer d food and rest, 
The friends submitted to a separatiou, 



144 THE TEAYELLEES. 

And each selected, as it pleased Mm best, 
A separate habitation. 

Though built in the same village, side by side, 

The dwellings into which they were conducted, 
And for the night invited to abide, 
Were differently constructed. 

The one, with court and offices behind, 
Presented a facade of vast expansion, 
And seem'd, upon a transient view, design' d 
To be some monarch's mansion. 

And, emblematic of the owner's state, 

"Who deem'd himself no ordinary mortal, 
A sculptured coat of arms, of ancient date, 
O'erhung the marble portal. 

The other, built upon a simpler plan, 

Inferior in extent and elevation, 
"Was such a structure as bespoke a man 
Of unpretending station. 



THE TEAVELLEES. 145 

But comfort reign' d within ; the rooms, if few, 

"Were tastefully and plentifully furnish' d, 
And every thing, if not entirely new, 

Was newly clean' d and burnish' d. 

The fare was good, the wine was of the best ; 

And, when the hospitable meal was over, 
A bed, as soft and downy as a nest, 
Received the younger rover. 

But front i nulla fides ; strange to say, 

The other house that look'd so fine and roomy, 
In which the elder had preferr'd to stay, 
Was dirty, cold and gloomy. 

Though fronted by a showy colonnade, 
The pile was in a ruinous condition ; 
And through unnumber'd rents that Time had made, 
The tempest found admission. 

The supper, too, was scanty ; and the guest 
Was usher' d, when he left the thrifty table, 



146 THE TRAVELLERS. 

Into a sleeping room, which proved, at best, 
No better than a stable. 

And on a bed that shock' d both smell and sight, 

A bed of matted nock that lay within it, 
He tried in vain, throughout the live-long night, 
To sleep one weary minute. 

The simpleton, who in his choice of books 

Is captivated by a specious title, 
And judges of their contents by their looks, 
Deserves a like requital. 



147 



FABLE XL VII. 



El verdadero caudal de erudicion no consiste en hacinar muchas noticias, 
sin6 en recoger con eleccion las utiles y necesarias. 



THE MAGPIE AND THE MONKEY. 

" Dear Madam, I pray/' 

Quoth a Magpie one day 
To a Monkey who happen' d to come in her way- 

~Foy a Magpie can prate 

At as ready a rate 
On trifles as if they were matters of state, 

Never caring a jot, 

So that hearers be got, 
Whether her talk may concern them or not — 

" If you'll, venture with me, 

Dear Madam," said she, 
l2 



148 THE MAGPIE AND THE MONKEY. 

(From which phrase of "Dear Madam/' instead of 

"Dear Sir," 
An intelligent reader perhaps may infer 
That the Monkey was not of the masculine gender, 

An ugly, hirsute, 

Disagreeable brute, 

But one of the sex 

To which we annex 
The epithets "lovely" and " gentle" and " tender,") 

" Dear Madam," quoth she, 

" If you'll but come with me 
To my snug little home in the trunk of a tree, 
I'll show you such treasures of art and virtu, 
Such articles, old, mediaeval and new, 
As a lady of taste and discernment like you 
"Will be equally pleased and astonish'd to view — 
A collection so large and so excellent too, 
That, unless you beheld it and rummaged it through, 
As I trust that you will without further ado, 

You'd scarcely believe 

How adroitly I thieve. 
And carry away, spite of bailiiF or reeve, 



THE MAGPIE AND THE MONKEY. 149 

Each waif and each stray 

That lies in my way, 
As I roam through the forest by night or by day. 
In an oak-tree hard by I have stow'd all these rarities ; 
And if you'll come with me, I'll soon show you where 
it is." 

The Monkey agreed 

At once to proceed, 
And hopping along at the top of her speed, 

To keep up with the guide, 

"Who flew by her side, 
As eager to show as the other to see — 
Presently came to the old oak-tree ; 

When from a hole 

In its mighty bole 
In which she had cunningly hidden the whole, 
One by one the Magpie drew, 
And display' d her hoard to the Monkey's view : — 

A buckle of brass, 

Some bits of glass, 
A garter dropp'd by a gipsy lass ; 



150 THE MAGPIE AKD THE MONKEY. 

A tatter' d handkerchief edged with lace, 
The haft of a knife, and a tooth-pick case ; 
An inch or so of a Cordelier's rope, 
A very small cake of Castilian soap, 
And a medal bless' d by the holy Pope ; 

Half a cigar, 

The neck of a jar, 
A couple of pegs from a crack' d guitar ; 

Beads, buttons and rings, 

And other odd things, 
Such as rarely are met with except in the cu- 
riosity-shop of a furnishing Jew, 
And such as my readers would think me an ass, 

if I 
Tried to enumerate fully or classify. 

"Enough," says the proverb, " 's as good as a feast;" 
And, in fact, though the catalogue might be increased, 
And a hundred more articles added at least, 

Some dozen or twenty 

Are sat sapienti, 
Which means, if the reader is wise, they are plenty. 



THE MAGPIE AND THE MONKEY. 151 

So why should I bore 

His patience with more ? 

Suffice it to say, 

Without further delay, 
That the long exhibition at length was o'er, 
And that, having gone, one by one, through the whole, 
And carefully pack'd thern again in the hole, 

Alarm' d at the pause, 

And not without caws, 
The Magpie look'd anxiously down for applause. 

The Monkey meanwhile, 

"With a shrug and a smile, 
Having silently eyed the contents of the pile, 
And found them, in fact, one and all very vile, 

Resolved to depart, 

And was making a start, 
When, observing the movement with rage and dismay, 
The Magpie address' d her and press' d her to stay : 

" AVhat, sister, I pray, 

Have you nothing to say, 
In return for the sight that I've shown you to-day ? 



152 THE ^LAfrPIE A^'D THE MOHXSX. 

Not a syllable f — hey ? 

I'm surprised — well I may — 
That so Hue a collection, with nothing to pay, 
Should be treated in such a contemptuous way. 
I look'd for applause as a matter of right. 
And certainly thought that you'd prove more polite; 

But envy and spite 

Have dumbfounded you quite, 
And your silence — I see it — is meant for a slight. 

Well ! I'm punish' d aright — 

r Tis just what I might 
Have expected from such a malevolent sprite ; 
And I curse my own lolly, that made me invite 

And take to my dwelling an ugly old testy mate. 
A creatine too stupid to relish a sight 

"Which none but collectors can properly estimate." 

At length, when the Magpie had ceased to revile. 

The Monkey replied with a cynical smile : 

••'AVell, Ma'am, since my silence offends you.'' said she? 

" I'll frankly confess. 

That such trifles possess. 



THE MAGPIE AND THE MONKEY. 153 

Though much to your taste, no attraction for me ; 

For, though like yourself, 

A collector of pelf, 
Such trash, ere I'd touch it, might rot on a shelf, 

And I'd not, by Saint Jago, 

Out of my way go 
A moment to pick up so vile a far ago. 

To the digging of roots, 

And the prigging of fruits, 
I strictly confine my industrial pursuits ; 
And whenever I happen to find or to steal 
More than will serve for a moderate meal, — 
For my appetite's small, and I don't eat a deal — 

In the pouches or craws 

Which hang from my jaws, 
And which I contract or distend at my pleasure, 
I safely deposit the rest of my treasure, 
And carry it home to be eaten at leisure. 
In short, Ma'am, while you collect rubbish and rags, 

A mass of chiffonerie not worth possessing, 
I gather for use, and replenish my bags 

With things that are really a comfort and blessing — 



154 THE MAGPIE AND THE MONKEY. 

A reserve, if I need them, for future subsistence, 
Adapted to lengthen and sweeten existence." 

The Monkey's reply — for I must, if I'm able, 
Elicit some practical hint from the fable — 
Suited the Magpie, and suits just as well any 
Quarterly, monthly or weekly miscellany, 
AVTiose contents exhibit so often a hash 
Oddly compounded of all kinds of trash, 
That I wonder, whenever I chance to inspect them, 
How editors have the bad taste to select them. 



155 



FABLE XLVIIL 



Hay pocos que den sus obras a luz con aquella desconfianza y temor que 
debe tener todo Escritor sensato. 



THE OWL AKD THE TOAD. 

An Owl was sitting silently 
Within the hollow of a tree, 
When, just below, there came a Toad 
Along the middle of the road, 
Who, looking unabash'd about, 
Espied the bird of wisdom out. 
"Hallo," the reptile cried, "hallo! 
What makes you love concealment so, 
While such as I — the gay and fair, — 
Are all abroad, to take the air ? 
Come, show your horns, and let us see 
What sort of creature you may be." 



156 THE OWL A1S T D THE TOAD. 

"Alas !" replied the Owl, and slunk 

The more into the hollow trunk, 

"I never stir abroad by day, 

To mingle with the fair and gay, 

But in retirement wisely hide 

The plainness which they would deride— 

For if I aim'd at showing off, 

The public would be sure to scoff ; 

And, sooth to say, I haye a doubt 

If eyen you should venture out, 

And think you would not do amiss, 

With such a form and such a phiz, 

To creep into some hole, and lie, 

Like me, conceal' d from every eye." 

How many of us, ere we print, 
Might profit by my fable's hint, 
And learn, like wisdom's bird, to brood 
AVith wisdom's self in solitude. # 



* Wisdom's self 
Oft seeks to sweet retired solitude; 
W T here with her best nurse, contemplation, 
She plumes her feathers, and lets grow her wings. 

—Milton. 



THE OWL AND THE TOAD. 157 

But, like the toad, we vainly try 
To captivate the public eye ; 
And confident, in reason's spite, 
That whatsoever we may write 
Mnst be deserving of the light, 
We rush abroad, and in the press 
Expose our utter worthlessness. 



158 



FABLE XLIX. 



Lo delicado y ameno de las Buenas-Letras no agrada a los que se entregan 
al estudio de una erudicion pesada y de mal gusto. 



THE BEETLE. 

I hate a thought, which an ingenious Muse 
Might shape into a fable. Such as she 
Can turn whatever subject she may chuse 

To good account ; and this of mine would be, 
If rightly treated, redolent of wit 
And moral argument. But, as for me, 

It is a theme which I am quite unfit 

To cope with ; for a fable, that shall please, 
Requires to have the smallest part of it 

Elaborated till it look like ease. 

The thought or subject, then, which I propose 
That one more skilful than myself should sieze, 



THE BEETLE. 159 

Belates unto the Beetle — how it goes 
And gladly feeds upon each filthy thing, 
But shuns, as if it loathed, the lovely rose. 

For here a clever fabulist might bring 
His faith or metaphysics into play, 
And try with all his art to trace the spring 

Of that black reptile's strange antipathy ; 
And though his train of argument, no doubt. 
Might lead the reader and himself astray, 

Involved in many a labyrinthine bout 
Of circumlocutory phrase — what then ? 
He'd find a clue at length, to draw him out, 

And explicate his subtle meaning, when, 
Arriving duly at the fable's close, 
He dropp'd this pithy moral from his pen : — 

That even as the queen of flowers, the rose, 
Is loathsome to the Beetle, so the best 
And brightest portions of a book are those 

Which tasteless critics chide beyond the rest. 



160 



FABLE L. 



Al que trabaja algo, puede disimularsele que lo pregone : el que nada hace, 
debe callar. 



THE FEOa AJsD THE HEK. 

As once a Frog, 
"Who all day long had chatter' d from his bog, 

Began to close 
His month and eyes, and drop into a dose, 

He chanced just then 
To hear the sudden cackle of a hen — 

" "What sound is this ?" 
He cried, " dear Madam, what can be amiss, 

That thus you scream, 
And keep a quiet neighbour from his dream ?" 

The Hen replied, 
Her feathers fluttering with maternal pride, 



THE FEOG AND THE HEN. 161 

" I humbly beg 
Tour pardon, sir ; but having laid an egg, 

I could not chuse 
To let you sleep in ignorance of the news." — 

" "What ! all this clatter 
About a single egg ! — so small a matter !" — 

" True, neighbour, true, 
'Tis but a single egg, — a small one too ; 

But if you blame 
The rout that I have made about the same, 

'Tis doubly wrong 
In you to croak for nothing all day long. 

The egg's of use, 
And therefore I may brag with some excuse ; 

But the dull brute 
That's unproductive should be also mute." 



162 



FABLE LI. 



Las obras que un particular puede desempeiiar por si solo, no mereeen 
se emplee en eilas el trabajo de muchos hombres. 



THE TOTTE CBIPPLES. 

A matt who was born deaf and dumb, and, in fact, 
Was unfit to commune with his kind, 

On a time bad some business of weight to transact 
With one, as unfit, who was blind. 

But though to the deaf man the blind could explain 
By signs what be wanted to say, 

Yet to him who was sightless the other in vain 
Eeplied in a similar way. 

They were greatly perplex' d, till there luckily pass'd 
A comrade to whom they appeal' d — 



THE TOUR CEIPPLES. 163 

A soldier who once carried arms, but, at last, 
Had his arms carried off in the field. 

He stopp'd, and translated the signs of the mute 
Into words which were heard by the blind ; 

And the parties, adjusting the point in dispute, 
"Were finally both of a mind. 

But a letter had still to be written and sent — 
To communicate promptly to some, 

Who took a great interest in the event, 

The agreement to which they had come. 

Here the soldier demurr'd — "Any service," quoth he, 
" In my power you may freely command ; 

But, if writing is wanted, 'tis easy to see 
That I cannot lend you a hand. 

" A scribe must be sent for — there's one in the street 
On whom you may safely depend; 

But as he is lame, with the gout in his feet, 
'Twill be better to go than to send." 
m 2 



164 THE Font CBIPPLES. 

So they went — and in terms which the armless and 
blind 

Dictated, the gouty one wrote ; 
And, when it was seal'd, to the mute was assign'd 

The task of conveying the note. 

Now, though with their limbs and their senses com- 
plete, 

Two men would have done it with ease, 
Tet what they achieved was an arduous feat 

To four so imperfect as these. 

The case, as I've stated it, really occurr'd ; 

Or my readers might fancy that I 
Had invented a fiction so very absurd, 

With a covert design to imply — 

That learned Academies often consist 
Of members as much in default, 

And include in the number a plentiful list 

Of the deaf and the blind and the halt ; 



THE EOUB CEIPPLES. 165 

That the facile affair of a " letter"* appears 

A difficult business to them; 
And their gravest Transactions, the labour of years, 

Are trifles which others contemn. 



* Balzac, writing to Bois-Robert on the subject of the French Academy 
and their Dictionary, says : " Every one promises great things—when 
they meet, they do nothing. They have been six years employed on the 
letter F. I should be happy if I were certain to live till they get through G." 



16G 



FABLE LII. 



La Natural eaa y el Arte han de ayudarse reciprocamente. 



THE FLINT AND THE STEEL. 

A Flint (for even flints can feel) 
Upon a time reproach' d the Steel, 
That, though he talk'd of striking light, . 

"Whene'er he struct her in the dark, 
His blows were very far from slight, 

As she could shew by many a mark. 
" Unless," cried she, " such conduct ceases, 

Unless you let me rest in peace, 
Instead of knocking me to pieces, 

Our further intercourse shall cease ; 
And yet if I resort to such 

A measure of retaliation, 



THE FLIKT AND THE STEEL. 167 

I grieve to think how very much 
You'll suffer by the separation ; 
For it is plain, that, when I'm gone, 
You'll be of little use or none." — 
"And you," replied the Steel, "will be 
At least as useless without me." 

Thus, art and genius must combine, 
To make an author truly shine; 
For, as the latent sparks require 

The Steel to strike them from the Flint, 
An author's intellectual fire 

Must be elicited by dint 
Of study, or it will expire, 

And never kindle into print. 



168 



FABLE LIII. 



Descubrimiento util para los que fundan su ciencia unicamente en saber 
muchos titulos de libros. 



THE COUNTRY SQUIRE. 

A Country Squire, of greater wealth than wit, 

(For fools are often bless' d with fortune's smile,) 
Had built a splendid house, and furnish' d it 

In splendid style. 

" One thing- is wanted," said a friend ; " for, though 

The rooms are fine, the furniture profuse, 
Tou lack a library, dear sir, for show, 

If not for use." 

"'Tis true; but, zounds!" replied the Squire with 
glee, 
" The lumber-room in yonder northern wing 



THE COUNTRY SQUIRE. 169 

(I wonder I ne'er thought of it) will be 

The very thing. 

"I'll have it fitted up without delay 

With shelves and presses of the newest mode 
And rarest wood, befitting every way 

A squire's abode. 

"And when the whole is ready, I'll despatch 

My coachman — a most knowing fellow — down, 
To buy me, by admeasurement, a batch 

Of books in town.'' 

But ere the library was half supplied 

"With all its pomp of cabinet and shelf, 
The booby Squire repented him, and cried 

Unto himself: — 

" This room is much more roomy than I thought ; 

Ten thousand volumes hardly would suffice 
To fill it, and would cost, however bought, 

A plaguey price. 



170 THE COUNTRY SQTJ1BE. 

"Now, as I only want them for their looks, 

It might, on second thoughts, be just as good, 
And cost me next to nothing, if the books 

Were made of wood. 

"It shall be so. I'll give the shaven deal 

A coat of paint — a colourable dress, 
To look like calf or vellum, and conceal 

Its nakedness. 

"And gilt and letter'd with the author's name, 

Whatever is most excellent and rare 
Shall be, or seem to be, ('tis all the same,) 

Assembled there." 

The work was done; the simulated hoards 

Of wit and wisdom round the chamber stood, 
In bindings some — and some, of course, in boards, 

AYhere all were wood. 

From bulky folios down to slender twelves, 
The choicest tomes, in many an even row, 



THE COUNTRY SQUIRE. 171 

Display' d their letter' d backs upon the shelves, 

A goodly show. 

With such a stock, which seemingly surpass' d 

The best collection ever form'd in Spain, 
"What wonder if the owner grew at last 

Supremely vain ? 

What wonder, as he paced from shelf to shelf, 

And conn'd their titles, that the Squire began, 
Despite his ignorance, to think himself 

A learned man ? 

Let every amateur, who merely looks 

To backs and bindings, take the hint, and sell 
His costly library — for painted books 

Would serve as welL 



172 



FABLE LIT. 



Para no alat>ar las obras buenas, algunos las stiponen de f&cil execucion. 



THE A3ST A^TD THE FLEA. 

THOuaH ill-inform' d in all affairs, 

Some coxcombs are as self-sufficient, 
And arrogate as many airs 

As if they deem'd themselves omniscient; 
Por whatsoever they are shown, 

However wonderful it may be, 
And absolutely as unknown 

To them as to a new-born baby, 
They shrug their shoulders, and declare, 

"With many a "pshaw!" that the phenomenon, 



the a:ft akd the flea. 173 

Which you account so very rare, 

Is, sooth to say, a very common one. 

The fittest treatment to bestow 

Upon such coxcombs is to lash them — 
For satire is their dread, and, though 

It may not cure, it will abash them ; 
And if an apologue of mine 

Can punish or abate their sinning, 
I'll not regret, though every line 

Should cost me half an hour in spinning. 

An Ant, conversing with a Elea, 

Related, with the utmost bonhommie, 
The arts of skill and industry 

That mark'd the commonwealth's economy; 
Told how they work'd from morn till night, 

And yet contrived, by due division, 
To make the daily labour light, 

And execute it with precision ; 
Described their singular abode, 

And, as she courteously conducted 



174 THE A1S T T AND THE ELEA. 

Her guest through each compartment, shew'd 

How cleverly it was constructed, 
"With cells impervious to the rain, 

Long passages for ventilation, 
And magazines to hold the grain 

Collected for their winter ration ; 
In short, exhibited to view 

A system that might pass for fiction, 
Had not experience proved it true, 

Beyond the power of contradiction. 



The Flea, a pert pretender, one 

"Who always jump'd to a conclusion, 
Surmised that what the Ant had done 

Must be of easy execution ; 
And, far from finding it a theme 

Suggestive of profound reflections, 
Decried and ridiculed the scheme, 

In short and snappish interjections. 
" Of course — no doubt — exactly so — 

But, prithee, prate no more about it- 



THE ANT AND THE FLEA. 175 

It needs no explanation — no — 

The thing is plain enough without it. 
I'm not surprised ; for though, I grant, 

Tour polity is well intended, 
And creditable to an Ant, 

It might, in most respects, be mended. 
Were I to try, I could devise 

A better scheme in half a minute; 
And what you deem so wondrous wise, 

Has nothing wise or wondrous in it." 



The Ant, indignant at the gibe, 

Eeplied: "I wish, my nimble neighbour, 
That you would deign to join our tribe, 

And regulate the common labour; 
For haply, with the help of one 

So clever and so conscious of it, 
We should no longer blunder on, 

But turn our industry to profit — 
And still improving on the past, 

Ey your example and direction, 



176 THE ANT AND THE FLEA. 

Attain to excellence at last, 
If not to absolute perfection." 

""What, you propose," rejoin'd the Flea, 
Retreating with a hasty movement, 
"Would prove an easy task to me, 

And tend, no doubt, to your improvement; 
But now, alas ! I cannot stay, 

Eor business calls me to a distance — 
Good bye ! — perhaps some other day 

I may return to your assistance." 



177 



FABLE LV. 



Nadie confiesa su ignorancia, por mas patente que ella sea. 






THE MOLE AND OTHEE ANIMALS. 

Some quadrupeds had met to play 

At blindman's-buff or hoodman-blind — 
The names by which the game, they say, 
Is known among mankind. 

They were but six — a Eat, a Hare, 

A Fox, a Squirrel, and a Dog; 
And last, not least, an Ape was there, 
Who set them all agog. 

For, but for him, the other five 
Would have been puzzled to devise 

N 



178 THE MOLE AND OTHEE ANIMALS. 

A plan by which they might contrive 
To bind the buffy's eyes. 

But, being handier than the rest, 

Who had, in fact, no hands at all, 
He undertook, at their request, 
The tyeing of the shawl. 

The knotty point had scarcely been 

Adjusted, and the game begun, 
When, luckily, an unforeseen 

Event increased the fun ; 

For, in her dwelling underground, 

A Mole, who chanced to hear the rout, 
Exclaim'd: "I'll join the merry round, 
And see what they're about/' 

So having slowly groped her way, 

And reach' d, at last, the upper earth, 
She begg'd that they, who seem'd so gay, 
Would let her share their mirth. 



THE MOLE AND OTHER ANIMALS. 179 

Her claim was readily allow' d — 

The Ape, with an expressive grin, 
Protesting that they would be proud 
To take a stranger in. 

But though she join'd their ranks, she proved 

No fitting partner in the play, 

And, iu whatever way she moved, 

"Was ever in the way. 

Bewilder' d in the giddy throng, 

And jeer'd and jostled by them all, 
She fiounder'd hopelessly along, 

And met with many a fall. 

In short, she blunder' d so, that she 

Was quickly caught; and it became 
Her turn to be hoodwink'd, and be 
The bufiy of the game. 

Now, though the Mole, as none can doubt, 
Was qualified to play the part, 

n2 



180 THE MOLE AND OTHEE ANIMALS. 

By nature's aid alone, without 
The further aid of art; 

And though, like those of . all her kind, 

Her eyes were cover' d with a crape 
Of film, that almost made her blind, 
She thus address'd the Ape: 

"Make haste, and fix the bandage on, 

And have a care that it be tight; 
For of the present party none 

Can boast so sharp a sight." 

Apply the tale to man; and we 

Shall find that he who least suspects 
His own deficiencies, is he 

Who has the most defects — 

That, while humility of mind 

Has mark'd the wise in every age, 
The fool, to his own folly blind, 
Still thinks himself a sage. 



181 



FABLE LVI. 



Contra dos especies de malos Traductores. 



THE SWOBD AND THE SPIT. 

An ancient Sword, a keen well-temper' d blade, 
By the best artist in Toledo made, 
Had served, from sire to son, a race of knights, 
And nash'd before them in a hundred fights, 
Till one, a spendthrift, whose degenerate hand 
Would rather grasp the bottle than the brand, 
Disgraced a weapon ne'er disgraced before, 
And pawn'd it to discharge a tavern score. 
There, thrown aside with baser things, it lay 
Unused and unregarded many a day, 
Until it chanced, one morning, that the cook, 
Who lack'd a Spit, espied it in its nook, 



182 THE SWORD AND THE SPIT. 

When thinking it, if not expressly made, 
Adapted for the culinary trade, 
She seized, and, thrusting it adroitly through 
A lusty capon without more ado, 
Contrived, by what she deem'd a clever hit, 
To turn the ancient Sword into a Spit. 

Ere long, and in the self-same place, occurrM 

Another transmutation as absurd. 

It happen'd that a rude unletter'd wight 

Had, strange as it may seem, been dubb'd a knight, 

And being thus entitled to possess 

A rapier as an article of dress, 

Eesolved that he would purchase one, and went 

Into a cutler's shop with that intent. 

The shopman, who surmised that if the hilt 

And scabbard were extravagantly gilt, 

The edge and temper of the blade would be 

Secure from any rigid scrutiny, 

Express' d regret that he could not produce 

A rapier ready for immediate use, 

But promised to prepare without delay 



THE SWOBD AND THE SPIT. 183 

And finish one against the following day; 

When, having in the time contrived to fit 

A hilt and scabbard to an ancient Spit, 

He shew'd it to the knight, who mnch admired 

And bought the weapon at the price required — 

A price which would have vastly overpaid 

The choicest that Ayala ever made, 

And plainly proved the buyer as complete 

A cully as the seller was a cheat. 

Two classes of Translators may behold 
Their likeness in the tale that I have told. 
For some select an author of repute, 
But, in translating, they, in fact, transmute, 
Destroy his polish'd sense, his pointed wit, 
And vulgarise a Sword into a Spit; 
While others, rendering in a pompous style 
Some work intrinsically low and vile, 
A proof of misdirected powers afford, 
And aggrandise a Spit into a Sword. 



184 



FABLE LYII. 



Algunos emplean en obras frivolas tanto afan como otros en las 
importantes. 



THE SQUIEEEL A^'D THE HOESE. 

Feoie his covert in a tree, 
Once a Squirrel chanced to see. 
On the plain, a generous Steed 
Galloping with all its speed. 
But in every movement still 
Subject to another's will, 
And obeying each command 
Of the rider's voice or hand. 
Though the Squirrel felt amazed 
By the sight on which he gazed, 
Yet the swiftness and the grace 
Of the courser's measured pace, 



THE SQTJIBEEL AND THE HOBSE. 185 

Woke within his envious breast 
Feelings which he thus express'd:— 
"All your exploits in the course, 
Skill, activity, and force, 
"Wondrous as they seem to be, 
Have no novelty for me. 
I can do as much, and play 
Feats as wondrous every day. 
Scarcely can the sharpest sight 
Track me in my rapid flight. 
Up and down, and to arid fro, 
With a leap I come and go ; 
Now upon the ground, and now 
Dancing on the topmost bough. 
I am, like a running rill, 
Never for a moment still." 

Slowly slackening his speed, 

Thus repaed the gallant Steed: — 

"Say, my saucy rival, say, 

Are the antics that you play, 

Are your bounds from tree to tree, 



186 THE SQUIEEEL AND THE HOESE. 

Useful in the least degree ? 
In the course that I pursue 
I've a worthier end in view. 
If I task my powers and strain 
Every nerve to scour the plain, 
'Tis my duty, and I take 
Pleasure, for my master's sake, 
In each effort that I make, — 
Confident that his regard 
And approval will reward 
AH my toil, however hard." 

Reader! look, and you may find 
Scribblers of the Squirrel kind — 
Busy trifiers, who expend 
Labour without aim or end, 
And, with all their pains, produce 
Nothing of the slightest use. 



187 



FABLE LVIIL 



La perfeccion de una obra consiste en la union de lo util y lo agradable. 






THE GARDENER AND HIS MASTER. 

In the middle of a garden, 

Blooming with the fairest flowers, 

Stood a fountain, ever playing 

Through the summer's sultry hours. 

And a pond, that was replenish'd 
By the fountain's overflow, 

And was amply stored with fishes, 
Slumber'd quietly below. 

But the Gardener, attending 
Solely to his favourite plants, 



188 THE GARDENER AND HIS MASTER. 

Irrigated them so often, 

And so much beyond their wants, 

That in time the daily drainage 
Nearly left the pond a-dry, 

And at length, for lack of water, 
All the fish were like to die. 

As the owner of the garden 

Through the walks one morning went, 
And observed the loss resulting 

Prom the man's mismanagement, 

He reproved him gently for it, 
Saying, "I am not more fond 

Of the flower that decks my garden, 
Than the fish that stocks my pond. 

"For the one affords me pleasure, 
When I'm in an idle mood; 

And I find the other useful, 
As an article of food." 



THE GARDENER AND HIS MASTER. 189 

From that day the simple fellow, 
Who mistook his Master's wish, 

Fearing, if he used the fountain, 
That he should destroy the fish — 

Left his plants without the moisture 
Which they had enjoy'd before, 

And, despite the droughty weather, 
Irrigated them no more. 

But ere long the owner, seeing, 

As again he sauntered there, 
That the flowers were dead or dying 

On the desolate parterre, 

"Blockhead!" he exclaim' d, in anger, 
" How you misapply your powers ! 

For at times you starve the fishes, 
And at other times the flowers. 

" Yet the fountain is so plenteous, 
That its water, by my troth, 



190 THE OAEDEKER AND HIS MASTER. 

Might suffice, if rightly managed, 
To preserve and feed them both." 

Hence we may deduce a moral, 
Which, though very old and trite, 

Still deserves to be repeated 
For the use of all who write — 

That utility and pleasure 

Should be kept alike in view, 

And a volume, if instructive, 
Should be entertaining too. 



191 



FABLE LIX. 



No se han de apreciar los libros por su vulto, ne por su tamano, 



THE TWO TRBTJSHES. 

A Thbttsh, the sire of many a numerous brood, 
A bird whom length of years had render' d sage, 

Invited once, in a paternal mood, 

His youngest son, a chick of tender age, 

To bear him company, in quest of food, 
Unto a vineyard in the vicinage, 

Where fruit abounded, richer, riper still 

Than ever had regaled the youngster's bill. 

"I fear me that this fruit is all a cheat," 

The Thrushling pertly cried ; " but lead the way ? 

My worthy governor, and if the treat 
Be only half as tempting as you say, 



192 THE TWO THRUSHES. 

I'll quickly show you how a cock can eat, 

Who has not broke his fast since yesterday." 
Impatient to enjoy the promised boon, 
Away they flew, and reach' d the vineyard soon. 

But when the youngster saw it, " Can it be, 
That one who is so old and looks so wise, 

Is partial to a fruit which seems to me 
Contemptible alike in form and size ? 

But come, I'll show you in a trice," said he, 
"A garden that contains a real prize — 

A fruit which is, in point of bulk and shape, 

A thousand times superior to the grape." 

"I'll follow you," the elder Thrush replied, 

"And taste the fruit which you commend so much, 

Though I expect to find, when fairly tried, 
A single grape-skin worth a hundred such." 

" Well, here it is at last," the youngster cried ; 
" Admire it for a moment ere you touch — 

The sight must surely strike you with surprise." 

What was the fruit ? — a gourd of monstrous size. 



THE TWO THKUSHES. 193 

And thus— to end the fable, and extract 

A moral from the tale that I have wrought — 

Some readers and collectors seem to act 
As foolishly by books, as if they thought 

That any volume which is not, in fact, 
Yoluminous, is really good for nought. 

A book is great,, if it be good at all; 

If it be bad, it cannot be too small. 









L94 



FABLE LX. 



Nadie crea saber tanto, que no terxga mas que aprender. 



THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE SPAKEOW. 

As once along the moonlight glade, 
An organ, exquisitely play'd, 

A strain of sweetest music sent, 
A tuneful Nightingale essay' d 

To imitate the instrument, 
And emulously pour'd her throat, 
To follow each delicious note; 
When, seated in a neighbouring tree, 

A chattering Sparrow pertly cried, 
"I marvel much, my friend, to see 
A famous chorister like thee 

So destitute of proper pride, 



THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE SPARBOW. 195 

As thus to take, with so much pains, 

A lesson in the art of song 
From one whose artificial strains 

Are too monotonous and long — 
Erom one who owes, in fact, to thee 

His earliest knowledge of the art, 
And still, if he will play, should be 

Content to play a pupil's part." 

"I have but little cause for pride," 
The humble Nightingale replied. 
"If e'er the organ deign'd or deigns 
To imitate my simple strains — 
My wild untutor'd wood-notes — yet 
How amply he repays the debt! 
His measured music teaches me 
The unerring laws of harmony, 
And shows me how I may correct 
By art each natural defect; 
For, though in native powers of song 
Superior to the vulgar throng, 
And skill' d enough to please an ear 
o 2 



196 THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE SPABEOW. 

Unmusical as thine, my dear, 

The most melodious Nightingale 
May certainly improve his skill, 
And learn to sing more sweetly still, 
By studying the chromatic scale." 

Thus every man of real learning 
Is anxious to increase his lore, 

And feels, in fact, a greater yearning, 
The more he knows, to know the more. 



197 



FABLE LXI. 



Quando se trabaja una obra entre muchos, cada uno quiere apropi^rsela 
si es buena, y echa la culpa a los otros si es mala. 



THE DISCONCERTED CONCERT. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, please to walk in ! 
My guitar is well tuned — I'm about to begin ; 
And all that I crave, 
In return for my stave — 
For a fable so gay, with a moral so grave — 
Are the smiles of the fair and the thanks of the 
brave. 

At the court of the Lion, the monarch of beasts, 
His birth-day was kept as the greatest of feasts ; 

And, as it drew near, 

It happen'd, one year, 



198 THE DISCONCEBTED CONCERT. 

That, wishing to pay 

Their respects in a way 

Befitting a day 

So deservedly dear, 
His courtiers agreed, if they only could sing, 
That a concert, concluding with " God save the 

King," 
Or some similar anthem, would just be the thing, . 

Proceeding at once, with more hurry than skill, 
To distribute the parts which each member should 

fill, 
They pass'd by the nightingale, linnet, and lark, 
The canary and thrush, as not up to the mark, 

And made a selection, 

On simple inspection, 
Of vocalists scarcely as free from objection — 

An incompetent set, 

But so confident yet 
Of their powers, that in solo, or glee, or duet, 

Each vow'd that his own 

Execution alone 



THE DISCONCERTED CONCERT. 199 

For any defects in the rest would atone, 

And that, if he would 

But try it, he could 
Perform any part in the programme aright, 
And sing the most difficult passage at sight. 

In fact, the most noteless and tuneless of beasts 
Were selected to make up the troop of artistes. 
The trebles in chief were a Cricket and Frog, 
And their principal tenors an Owl and a Dog ; 

Their best baritone 

"Was an elderly Drone, 
And the bass was assigned to an Ass and a Hog. 

I need not describe what an uproar arose, 
When the concert began, with such singers as those. 
Suffice it to say, that the bawling and squalling, 
And shrieking and squeaking, were really appalling; 
That, instead of applause 
And the clapping of paws, 
There were shruggings of shoulders and " pishes " 
and " pshaws," 



200 THE DISCONCERTED CONCERT. 

And that but for the presence of royalty, all 
The beasts would have risen and quitted the hall. 

The Frog, who was much disconcerted to see 

What a failure the concert was likely to be, 

And, as 'prima donna, felt sorely afraid 

That the blame of its failure on her would be laid, 

Eesolved, by attacking her asinine brother, 

To shift it at once from herself to another. 

"The Ass, though it grieves me," said she, "to 

impugn 
The taste of a neighbour, is much out of tune ; 

For, though he appears 

Well furnish'd with ears, 
The creature makes so bad a use of them, that 
He cannot distinguish a sharp from a flat." — 
Amazed and indignant at such an assault, 

The Ass replied : " Ah, no ! 

It is the soprano, 
The ear-piercing Cricket, whose voice is in fault, 
And spoils all our songs by its screamings in alt." — 
" Nay, nay," squall' d the Cricket, " I have not a doubt 



THE DISCONCERTED CONCERT. 201 

That, in trying to sing with a ring in his snont, 
The Hog is the party who puts us all out." — 
" Despite of your sneer, and despite of the ring in 
My nose," cried the Hog, " if there's any one thing in 
Which I excel, it is certainly singing; 
But I can't say as much for the Dog, and his yelp 
Is a positive hindrance, instead of a help." — 
""We should do very well," quoth the Dog with a 

growl, 
"Were it not for the hideous hoot of the Owl." — 
"The Dog," cried the bird of Minerva, "ah, well- 

a-day ! 
Has a very indifferent notion of melody ! 
A more musical brute 
Would allow that my hoot 
Is as soft and as sweet as an amorist's lute ; 
But the Drone, 
I must own, 
Is as harsh in its tone 
As a rustical bagpipe and ought to be mute." — 
Here the Lion arose, and cut short the dispute: 
"Is this hubbub," quoth he, "is this halliballoo, 



202 THE DISCONCERTED CONCERT. 

So distasteful to me and disgraceful to you, 
The best that such boastful performers can do ? 
Ere yet it came off, every singer agreed, 
That, perfect in all points and sure to succeed, 
The concert would prove a crack concert indeed; 
But now, when it turns out at best but a bore. 
And fails to elicit a single encore. 
Each seeks to disown any share in the thing, 
And thinks by this dodge to bamboozle his king. 
Eut I'm not to be done; and I tell you, egad, 
That your singing and conduct are equally bad, 
And you are, one and all, a contemptible squad — 
Tou had better get out of my sight — so you 
had"— 

And it was not in joke 

That his majesty spoke, 

For he look'd, good lack, 

As awfully black 
As if he intended an instant attack, 

And he flourish' d his tail 

On high, like a flail 
About to come down with a terrible thwack, 



THE DISCONCERTED CONCERT. 203 

"Be off in a crack, 

And never come back, 
For, zounds, if I catch you again in this hall, 
I'll silence your singing and throttle you all." 

Thus it happens, when several authors unite 

In a work to which each one contributes his mite, 

That, if it succeed, every writer is prone 

To arrogate all the success as his own, 

As due to his talents and labours alone ; 

While, if it should fail, he is sure to condemn 

His colleagues, and wholly attribute to them 

A result which his own share of dulness, no doubt, 

Has equally aided in bringing^ about. 

Such scribblers, as thoroughly stupid and vain 

As the blundering brutes who suggested my strain, 

Deserve that a similar fate should befall them ; 
That if not a lion, a critic at least — 
Perhaps of the two the more truculent beast — 

Should rise in his anger and savagely maul them. 



2(M 



FABLE LXIL 

Non ha de considerarse en un autor la edad sino el talento. 
THE COCK A> T D HIS COIIBATS. 

A full- grogs' Cock, who thought himself a game 

cock, 
But still in all his quarrels proved a tame cock — 
For he was quarrelsome, confirming fully 
The axiom that a coward is a bully — 

One day, I know not why, 
Attack' d a Cockerel who was passing by, 
Perhaps he deem'd 
That one who seem'd 
In stature a mere chicken, might 
Be chicken-hearted in a fight — 
If so he deem'd, he did not deem aright. 



THE COCK A]ST> HIS COMBATS. 205 

A mighty mind 
Within a little body may be shrined; 

And in the combat that arose, 
(For, after some preliminary crows, 

They naturally came to blows,) 
The lesser bird exhibited a vigour 
That utterly discomfited the bigger, 
And brought the quarrel to a speedy close. 
Retreating from a foe who hit so hard, 

The vanquish' d Sultan of the yard 
Exclaim' d uoto the inmates of his harem : 
" That Cockerel, who is making such a rout, 
In time will grow into a cock, no doubt, 
And, when he gets his spurs, may even be 
A champion, worthy to contend with me ; 
At present he's a chicken, and I spare him." 

But, though the craven prudently forbore 
To meddle with the Cockerel from that day, 
Ere long, becoming cook-a-hoop once more, 
He got into another fray, 
And, though 



206 THE COCK AND HIS COMBATS. 

On this occasion with an aged foe, 
Proved just as unsuccessful as before. 
The bird, in fact, 
Whom he attack'd 

"Was old enough to be his sire, 
But, having been a warrior in his prime, 
Retain' d, despite the influence of time, 

A portion of his former fire — 
For fire beneath the frost of age may glow, 
As smoulders a volcano under snow. 
In short, with crippled wing and bloody crest, 
Again our bully came off second-best, 
And, staggering from the spot, again address'd 
The sympathising inmates of his harem : 

" That Cock," he cried, " who seems so bold, 

My dears, is very weak and old; 
And so I pity the poor wretch, and spare him." 

Let authors, ere they venture to engage 
In controversy, to this truth attend — 
That on their rival's skill, and not his age, 
The issue of the contest must depend. 



207 



FABLE LXIII. 



Es igualmente injusta la preocupacion exclusiva a favor de la Literatura 
antigua, 6 a favor de la moderna. 



THE GKATS. 

A swabm of Gnats, one sultry day, 
Into a wine-vault made their way, 
And having sipp'd from every can 
And cask within their reach, began, 
As topers often do, to bicker 
Upon the merits of their liquor. 
N.B. — I wonder that a scribe 
AVho wrote so much about the tribe, 
Good Villaviciosa, when 
Their history employed his pen, 
Omitted in his book to say 
One syllable about the fray; 



208 THE G^ATS. 

But I'll describe it, and enable 
The author by my present fable — 
A fable which is just as true 
As the preceding sixty-two — 
To fill up, in the next edition 
Of his Mosqitea, this omission. 

The quarrel of the Gnats began 
"With certain elders of the clan, 
"Who, dipping their probosces in 
The produce of the nearest binn, 
And finding it extremely thin, 
Insisted that no modern wine 
"Was half so generous and fine, 
Had half the flavour, strength, and zest, 
"Which wines of former times possess'd. 

The younger members of the swarm, 
In terms as positive and warm, 
Preferr'd the new, and vow'd that never age 
Could have produced as good a beverage 
As that which they imbibed at present 



THE GNATS. 209 

And found so potent and so pleasant. 
"With all that flippancy of tongue, 
Which marks the speeches of the young, 
They begg'd the others to dismiss 
The venerable prejudice 
"Which makes an elder ever blind 
To modern merits, and inclined 
Almost to worship, in his dotage, 
The very faults of a remote age. 

The more they talk'd, the greater grew 
The disagreement of the crew, 
"Until the wine-vault with the clang 
Of the contending parties rang; 
When, luckily, there interfered 
A speaker whom they all revered — 
A Gnat, an old experienced drinker, 
And yet no ordinary thinker, 
In short, a native of Navarre, 
And shrewd, as all its natives are. 
"By Bacchus! cease your din," quoth he, 
"And listen for awhile to me; 
p 



210 THE GNATS. 

For, in a quarrel of the kind, 

What better umpire can you find 

Than one familiar with the use 

Of every grape's peculiar juice? 

"Where'er the best of wine that's made is, 

Peralta, Malaga, or Cadiz, 

Oporto, Malta, or elsewhere, 

I've sought it out, and sipp'd it there. 

Know, then — for I will mention some 

Of the results to which I've come — 

That, as no mere amount of age 

Can turn a fool into a sage, # 

So, in the article of drink, 

'Tis equally absurd to think 

That bad wine may be turn'd to good 

By being kept for years in wood. 

Though, if originally prime, 

It may, I grant, improve with time; 

Yet, if of an inferior vintage, 

With little or no body in't, age, 



* The proverb that " Experience makes fools wise," is, literally taken, 
very absurd one. Fools are a class who never profit by experience. 



THE GNATS. 211 

Instead of helping to' correct, 
Will aggravate each old defect, 
And make, with every passing hour, 
The thin sour stuff more thin and sour. 
In former times, too — let me add — 
The wines were, now and then, as bad 
As any that we've lately had; 
And when the crop, from blight or hail 
Or other cause, had chanced to fail, 
Their grapes, like ours, though duly press' d, 
Produced mere vinegar at best. 
In candour, too, I must allow 
That vintages are gather'd now, 
That may in point of worth compare 
With former growths however rare; 
And possibly, if kept awhile, 
This very wine which we revile, 
Hereafter may be deem'd delicious — 
Tor taste and fashion are capricious, 
And, much as we dislike its flavour, it 
May prove with future gnats a favourite. 
In fine — to terminate the lecture, 
p2 



212 THE GNATS. 

And put ray meaning past conjecture — 

One short and simple rule is mine, 

To regulate my choice of wine ; 

For, making quality my test. 

I scorn the bad and drink the best, 

Nor 3 if the flavour pleases me, 

Am curious what its age may be." 

When critics angrily discuss 
The Ancients and the Moderns thus. 
I deem the question which they raise 
Of who deserve the greater praise. 
As vain and frivolous as that 
Which was submitted to the Gnat. 
My verdict, too. like his shall be : 
For, so a volume pleases me, 
I care not if its author wrote 
In recent times or times remote* 



218 



TABLE LXIV. 



No basta que sea buena la materia de un escrito ; es menester que tambien 
lo sea el modo de tratarla. 






THE LACE-MAKEES. 

In the same village dwelt a brace of neighbours, 
A man and woman, — an industrious brace, 

Engaged from morn till night in kindred labours, 
For both were manufacturers of lace ; 

But his from gold and hers from flax was made, 

And yet the woman's was the better trade. 

" 'Tis strange," exclaim'd the man, " that our galoons 
Should differ so in value, and that thine 

Should fetch in any market more doubloons 
Than twice an equal quantity of mine, 

While mine, as all may feel, are sterling stuff, 

And thine too flimsy to withstand a puff." 



214 THE LACE-MAKEBS. 

"The different price, dear sir, at which we sell 
Our different fabrics may be shortly told," 

The dame replied; "for, though I know full well 
That mine is wrought in thread and yours in gold, 

The preference of the former to the latter 

Is but a proof that Art surpasses Matter." 

Let authors study to improve their style — 

For as the thread from which the costliest lace 

Is fashion'd, is comparatively vile, 

And owes to art alone its worth and grace, 

The veriest trifle, if express'd with ease 

And elegance of style, is sure to please. 



215 



FABLE LXV. 



Quando se trata de notar los defectos de una obra, no deben censurarse 
los personales de su Autor. 



THE PEACOCK AND THE CEOW. 

Upon a time, as legends show, 

And legends seldom lie, 
A Peacock quarrell'd with a Crow, 

And challenged him to fly. 

The challenger was much to blame; 

For none who know the brace, 
"Would find it difficult to name 

The winner of the race. 

But as the Crow prepared to start, 
Impatient for the skies, 



216 THE PEACOCK AND THE CBOW. 

The Peacock hoarsely cried: "Thou art 
The vilest bird that flies. 

"Thy coat, as black as any pall, 

Is ominous of woe — 
Ill-luck is certain to befall 

The man who meets a Crow. 

"And carrion, filthy carrion, is 
Thy chief and favourite fare — 

I'm sure so foul a fare as this 
No other fowl would share." 

"I have, no doubt, my faults," replied 
The Crow, "but let them rest; 

The only question to be tried 
Is who can fly the best." 

And thus an author's person, when 
His works are free from fault, 

Is often to the critic's pen 
An object of assault. 



217 



FABLE LXYI. 



La costumbre inveterada no debe autorizar lo que la razon condena. 



THE JUDGE AND THE BKIGAND. 

A Bbigand, who had brutally attack' d 
A traveller, was taken in the fact, 

And led to instant trial; when, in place 
Of disavowing the atrocious act, 

He justified it to his judge's face — 
*'Tis hard," said he, "that I should be arraign' d 

For following iny proper occupation — 
The only trade to which my youth was train'd 

By those who undertook my education. 
For in my childhood I was taught to steal, 

And show'd in the performance of my duty, 
Or what I deem'd my duty, such a zeal 

As brought me for the time both praise and booty ; 



218 THE JUDGE AND THE BEIGAKD. 

Till growing conscious, as I grew more big, 
That petty larceny was infra dig.> 
I left it, and to gain my daily bread, 
Assumed the burglar's manlier part instead. 
But latterly, and since I reach' d my prime, 

My course has been upon the king's high- way, 
And if, from custom and the lapse of time, 

I have become, as I am proud to say, 

The most distinguish' d cut-throat of my day, 
I think it hard that you should interfere, 

And seriously impute it as a crime, 
That I pursue my natural career — 
The same that I've pursued through many a year." 

Some scribblers make a similar excuse, 
And if they are impeach'd for an offence 
Against the laws of decency or sense, 
Appeal to precedents, and plead that use 
And long prescription sanction the abuse. 



219 



FABLE LXVII. 



No confundamos la buena critica con la mala. 



THE VIPER AND THE LEECH. 

A Viper, once endow'd with speech, 
Address'd himself unto a Leech: — 
"We bite alike, but man requites 
How very differently our bites! 
He cheerfully submits to thine, 
But terror-stricken flies from mine." 

"The reason of his acting thus," 

Eeplied the Leech, "is obvious, 

My bite is, like the lancet's prick, 

A wholesome wound that cures the sick; 



220 THE YIPER A^D THE LEECH. 

"While every puncture of thy fang 
Inflicts a deep and deadly pang." 

I thank thee, reader, that thou hast 
Perused my fables to the last; 
And if thou wilt not praise the same, 
But rather art disposed to blame, 
Then censure me, as Leeches bite, 
In mercy, reader, not in spite. 



THE END. 



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